Whatever It Takes
by KateDessi
Summary: "Don't break me," Hermione whispered. "I won't," Draco vowed... but he did and so she ran away.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

**PLEASE READ THIS NOTE IF YOU'VE READ THIS BEFORE: **Because I assure you, you haven't. It's been revised _completely_, but still following the same story line. This is a story of love and misunderstanding in marriage, how communication should be a priority. And If you're wondering, no, I've never been married. Haha! Please enjoy!

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**November 1999**

A handful of students had returned to Hogwarts after the battle to finish their education. Everyone was surprised to find that Draco Malfoy was one of them. It was awkward but according to their educational ranks, they were always thrown in each other's company. Both were not happy about those circumstances.

Three months since the start of the school year, in the middle of November, Hermione Granger stumbled upon Draco Malfoy in a dark alcove in the library absolutely shit-faced, with a half empty bottle of firewhiskey.

"Malfoy?" she asked tentatively.

He turned his head and groaned when he saw who it was. "Granger," he moaned. "Go away. Stop torturing me. Leave me alone. Please."

She pursed her lips. Torturing him? What? "You're going to get in trouble if Filch catches you with that."

"Fuck Filch. I don't give a shit about Filch. I'm eighteen years old; I can drink whenever and wherever the bloody hell I want."

She cringed at his crude language. He was worse than Ronald! "Malfoy, please," she whispered. She wasn't sure why she was actually doing this. He deserved to get caught. But no, she didn't really feel that way. He made mistakes in the past and he was already paying for it - by openly being shunned by the entire student body, by being treated by the professors with cold civility and by being haunted by his own demons inside his head. She knew. She'd been observing him since the start of the year. He was miserable and was slowly being eaten alive by those demons called regrets. Sometimes she wanted to reach out to him, tell him it was okay, that everyone makes mistakes.

"Why do you care?" he snarled, waving the bottle at her.

"I don't know." she admitted.

"Go," he barked out. "Go, Granger."

"You're inebriated. You need my help..." she hesitated. "Drinking alcohol will not solve any of your problems, you know."

He let out a bitter, short laugh. "You don't know shit about problems. Always so good and noble, I can't imagine you having any difficulty in life as long as you follow the rules, do whatever you think is helping mankind and keeping your legs closed."

She gasped. "That was uncalled for, Malfoy."

To her surprise, he winced. "Sorry. As you can see: I'm pissed." He suddenly smiled goofily at her, leaning forward a little bit. "It's almost curfew, Granger. What are you doing up and about?"

She shook her head. "I was doing some last minute studying before the weekend and you know that curfew doesn't apply to us."

"I know but you're always one to follow the rules, aren't you?"

If he only knew, she thought and fought back a smile.

"That's what I like about you..." he was saying.

She gaped at him. "What did you say?"

"I said that's what I like about you. Everyone sees you as ridiculously priggish but I like you just the way you are." He shrugged.

He's going to hate himself in the morning. "Come on, Malfoy. You need to lay off the alcohol now. You're talking nonsense."

He tilted the tip of the bottle to his lips and drank a large amount. "No," he slurred when he was finished. "You're a muggleborn. You're in Gryffindor. You're friends with Pothead and the Weasel army. You're very annoying, too righteous, a know-it-all and a bloody teacher's pet. You'd lick their asses if they asked you to, wouldn't you? You know, you're the worst of the lot- "

She gulped back the tears. She heard all of this before from countless people - most of the time from her friends even - but that didn't mean it hurt any less. "Good night, Malfoy." she said softly and turned on her heel.

"...I just don't get why I still want you after all this time."

She froze. "What did you say?"

"I wanted you ever since I saw you at the Yule Ball. I want you in every way possible. I want you to be mine. I want to be yours. I- "

She fled the library, her cheeks a deep shade of red. She would pretend that none of this ever happened. He's inebriated and he didn't know what he was saying.

* * *

**December 1999**

It was very awkward since that night. She avoided him at all costs which was pretty difficult since they had all their classes together. She would always sit at the front knowing that he always sit at the back. At the Great Hall during mealtimes, she would look up from her plate only to catch him looking at her with an intense expression on his face.

She was helpless when she found herself in a group of four in class for a project in Ancient Runes. She was unnerved because she noticed he was staring intently at her but he never spoke a word.

"You know, Malfoy," Thoreau Asher from Ravenclaw said. "We expect your cooperation or I'll make sure you'll get a T."

Hermione braced herself for an argument but he just said stoically, "I will."

The Ravenclaw student snorted. "As if. No one trusts you because you're a Death Ea- "

"Shut up," she interrupted harshly.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Granger," Draco snapped. He turned to Thoreau. "You speak to me that way again and I'll show you how much of a bloody Death Eater I can be." He jumped to his feet and abruptly left the classroom, leaving their other classmates to stare after the open doorway and the professor shouting after him to come back.

After a quick decision, Hermione also jumped to her feet and approached the professor. "May I be excused, Professor? I just- " she stopped speaking and just ran out the door.

"Malfoy!" she called out to him as she ran as fast as she can so she can catch up to him. That wizard could really walk fast. "Malfoy, wait up!"

"Leave me alone!"

"No way," she wheezed. "Please. Wait for me."

She thought he was going to continue ignoring her.

Instead, he did as she asked.

Everything they've ever known had changed that afternoon.

Because when she caught up to him and he faced her - he kissed her.

And she let him.

Why, she wasn't sure nor was he. It just... happened. Whether it was supposed to or not. It did.

They crossed a line and there was no going back. Despite all her misgivings about him, she decided to go ahead and get to know him. There were things she needed to know and things she wanted to know. It was difficult - he didn't want her to pry but she was stubborn. She pushed and pushed until he cracked.

Tears swimming in his eyes but not falling, he managed to confess to her everything. He actually wanted to be Death Eater because he liked their reputation being feared by many. He wanted that power over the people. He wanted to live up to his father's expectations. He also thought that being a Death Eater gave immunity from being killed by Voldemort. Never had he been so wrong. The summer after fifth year, when his father was still locked in Azkaban, Draco took the Dark Mark to protect him and his mother.

Hermione knew why he did these things during sixth year. Harry already had told her. She felt compassion for him then. But hearing it from Draco's point of view, made her want to cry for him but she didn't. Instead, he drew her in his arms. When he finished telling her about it, he was crying and soaking her shoulder.

Draco Malfoy was just misunderstood, she realized that evening.

After that, she noticed a significant change in him. He was more relaxed, his smiles that were rare became frequent and he started to stand up for himself. Some students still harassed him about his being a Death Eater but instead of threatening them in retaliation like he did Thoreau Asher from Ravenclaw, he would just tell them to back off and sometimes he would just ignore them.

She started to spend most of her free time with him. And just like she had in the beginning, she soothed their misgivings about Draco Malfoy. He didn't make it hard for the others as well. He didn't have to prove himself to anyone really, but his desire to prove to everyone who's anyone in their lives that he was deserving of Hermione and vice versa were greater.

* * *

**June 2000**

Hermione found herself very much in love with him by the end of the year.

"I don't deserve you," was his somber response when she told him for the very first time. "I really don't. But I'm a selfish bloke so I'm going to keep you with me even when you meet the one who really deserves you. I might kill him when you do." He smiled suddenly. "I love you so much and I hate the fact that I sound so bloody cheesy, but Merlin knows how much I need you in my life. Don't leave me, okay?"

"I won't," she promised.

"Do you remember that night in the library?"

"Yes."

"I wasn't drunk that night. It was a leftover bottle and I only had two sips when you found me."

"What?" she gasped.

"Since you clearly thought I was drunk, I decided to say those things. I wanted to see how you would react. If you reacted the way I had expected you to, I would have finished that bottle, seduced Astoria Greengrass and ask her to marry me." He paused and took a deep breath. "I asked you, 'why do you care?' and you said, 'I don't know', I knew then that I've got a chance. You don't hate me and I set out to prove myself to you. I'm not the same person."

"I know that. I've known it all along," she told him softly, reaching out to cup his cheek. "I've always known there's a reason for your attitude. I just didn't think it would be that. I thought you hated me because I was muggleborn, bested you in everything - at least academic wise."

He grinned at her. "Well, that too."

"I'm glad I found you that night," she murmured, leaning forward so she could brush her lips against his. "I've always been curious about you. I think that's why I stayed for a little while."

He shifted and pulled her to him so she was straddling his thighs. She locked her legs around his waist automatically. "I think you were curious about this," he whispered as he grinded his pelvis against her.

"You were too," she gasped, laughing a little.

He grinned roguishly. "Always. I'm a male. I've always been curious. Have I told you why I chose you?"

"Yes. I'm the prim and proper student from Gryffindor and a muggleborn. Forbidden, Untouchable, that's what you said." She smiled seductively. "Not so untouchable now though, right?"

"Oh no," he replied quickly, his hands coming to rest on her ass and squeezed. "Definitely not."

They stayed that way for a while, just relishing at the intimacy of their position while Draco marveled in her confession. He had been telling her that he loved her occasionally but it was only that day that she returned his sentiments vocally.

"Don't break me," she whispered in his ear. "I love you."

"I love you too," he returned gently, urging her to meet his eyes. "And I won't. I swear I won't."

He sealed it with a kiss.

* * *

**May 2006**

"I can't do this, Draco," Hermione said desperately, because she was losing the battle. "I really, really can't."

"You can. You have to."

"But- "

Draco shushed her with a quick, hard kiss on the lips. "Baby, I love you so much. That's not going to change any time soon. I don't want to wake up one day and find that you're not there when I wake up in the morning because when something goes wrong, if - when - we do this, we don't have to worry because we're going to be stuck together for life. I want you, all of you, every bloody day." He laughed, almost giddily. "And I don't want to call you Granger anymore."

Hermione sighed. She knew it was a lost cause. She actually wanted the same things as he. "On one condition, Draco Malfoy... I get to keep my name."

His jaw dropped in shock. "I'm an old-fashioned wizard, Hermione. You're going to have my name."

"I'll go by Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy."

"You want to hyphenate?" He cringed.

"No hyphenation, Draco." She grinned at him. "I'll use both names."

He grinned back his relief at her. "So? Are we going to do this?"

"Okay," she laughed.

His heart skipped a beat. "Really?" He wrapped his arms around her and twirled her around, making her squeal in surprise.

"Really," she gasped after he put her down safely on the ground. "Let's just do it before I change my mind."

"Hey." He shot her a fake glare. "If you did, I know how to convince you." His hand slithered between them and cupped her underneath her skirt. "You love this too much. You're addicted."

"You corrupted me," she moaned, not even bothering to deny it. He was right about it anyway. "Oh. Draco. Stop... we'll continue this later. Let's get married now."

His hand left her abruptly. "We'll get you a dress and I'll find a dress robe on the way. I contacted a friend from Beauxbatons who works at the French Ministry of Magic. She'll draw up the contract. She told me it will take two hours. It'll be ready by the time we get there."

"Good Godric," she murmured but she was smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whirled her around and pushed her towards the bathroom in their hotel room but not before swatting her backside. "Now get your pretty little ass ready for our impromptu wedding."

* * *

**July 2008**

"He hasn't left you yet?" was Hermione's mother-in-law's greeting when she opened the door to the penthouse apartment she shared with Draco in London.

"Draco's not here," Hermione replied stiffly. "He sent me a note earlier today saying he's working late tonight."

"He's working alright... but I doubt it had anything to do with his job." Narcissa smirked, looking very much like Draco at that moment.

"Are you implying that Draco's working some other..." Hermione glared at the older woman when she realized what was being implied. "Draco will never cheat on me. And really, you think so lowly of your son?"

"Never!" Narcissa sounded indignant. "I'm convinced that Draco's finally come to his senses and found a woman who is actually deserving of him."

"We had a binding ceremony," she reminded her softly. "It cannot be undone. You know that. You and Lucius had the same type of marriage ceremony."

"There are ways- "

"Need I remind you, Narcissa Malfoy, that any type of Dark Arts is totally illegal now. Unless you want to find yourself locked up for some years in Azkaban?" She glared at Narcissa. "I should know. I work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement now." She paused. "Please just stop this right now. It's been years, Narcissa. Aren't you getting tired of all this nonsense?"

Narcissa glared at her and whipped out her wand.

For a minute, Hermione thought she was going to curse her.

"Draco is not really working," she told Hermione coolly. "He's with his childhood friend, Lacey Hurst. Ask him about her. They've been seeing each other almost every day. If I'm not mistaken..." Narcissa pointedly glanced at the wall clock above Hermione's head. "They're probably on their way to her home now."

She then disapparated, smirking again.

That evil woman! Hermione's hand found a figurine and she threw it on the wall opposite her. She fought to calm herself, her breaths deep and harsh.

"I'm sorry, baby," she spoke, her hand stroking her still flat stomach. Tears flooded her eyes. She let it fall. "I don't mean to cry... but your father's family hates me. It hurts," she gasped at how much truth there was to her words. "But your Daddy will protect me and you. Especially you. Remember that, okay?"

Suddenly, she felt exhausted. It had been a long day at the Ministry but she was used to it. It was the confrontation with Narcissa that left her weary, added to her pregnancy condition. She wanted to wait up for Draco... because she'd only found out that she was pregnant earlier today. Three muggle pregnancy tests confirmed it. They'd been trying to get pregnant for a year now. She knew that Draco would be ecstatic, she guessed, probably more than she was.

Her thoughts drifted to Narcissa's claims.

Lacey Hurst, was it?

What am I thinking? No, no. Of course Narcissa's lying. Draco wouldn't dare. He knew she'd kill him if he did.

Don't break me, she'd told him eight years ago.

I won't. I swear I won't, he'd vowed.

She believed in him.

Although... it's been about two weeks when he started to come home late. He had never done that before. Since they both worked at the Ministry of Magic, they naturally had lunch together. But whenever she came to his office, he had already gone and without a note. Hermione found it odd but he must be really dedicated to his post since he was aiming for a promotion that year so she just brushed it off. She would see him later at home anyway, she figured... but then he also worked late every night. She blamed it on Percy Weasley who was Draco's boss and also always a pain in the butt. Percy was probably overworking her poor husband. So what if they hadn't had sex in those two weeks? Dry spells happen to married couples all the time...

"It's nothing," she assured herself. Despite the early hour, she climbed into bed and was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Later that night, she awoke when the bed dipped beside her.

"Draco," she murmured sleepily.

"Hey, baby," he replied. "Go back to sleep."

"...'kay."

She felt his arm go around her and gently he pulled her to him until her back was snug against his chest. She sighed. "You smell so good..." Draco whispered.

As if automatically, she sniffed him as well. "You don't. You smell like firewhiskey and..." she paused, "roses." She frowned, suddenly awake. She turned around and faced him.

His eyes were closed and his mouth was parted slightly.

"By the way, I'm pregnant," she grumbled and turned around again, presenting her back to him, evening moving away from his hold. He smelled foul, offensive to her nose, making her want to puke her guts out. Pregnancy does that to a woman. She wished he'd taken the time to shower before he got into bed with her. Why the hell would he smell like roses? "I hate roses," she muttered and shifted to face him again. "I miss you, Draco." Her hand moved up to caress his chest.

"Stop, Lacey..." he mumbled, his eyes still closed. "I'm worn out."

The pain was instant, so intense that she couldn't breathe. Did he just say Lacey? The Lacey? "Oh my God," she cried helplessly as she jumped out of their bed. The sight of him was breaking her apart. It was unexplainable. She had never felt such emotional pain before. She walked in the darkness of the bedroom, out into the hall.

Running away never solved anything. She knew that. She didn't know what else to do.

So she just left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

**December 2008, Christmas Eve**

Draco remembered the first Christmas she spent with Hermione. It was December of 2000. She made him stay with her at her parents' house which was quite a horrendous experience he thought at first. It was the first time he met her parents. Her parents, he found out, were overprotective. They believed that he was just another horny little wizard set out to seduce her. If only they had known that it was curious Hermione who wanted to try it out with him. He wanted to laugh at their faces then.

He was forced to participate in their Christmas traditions that he found a bit ridiculous. His own family wasn't big fans of the holiday.

The morning of Christmas Eve, the four of them went to volunteer in a soup kitchen where they served homeless people Christmas feast. What an awkward experience that was for him. Of course, he wasn't actually used to serving others - house elf work! His mind screamed but when he caught Mrs. Granger smiling at him, he thought that he didn't mind it so much after all.

After that, they had lunch at a family restaurant not far from the soup kitchen.

Then they went to an orphanage where they participated in a cookie frosting party. Another awkward experience but with Hermione's encouragement, he started enjoying himself. Hell, a little blonde girl clung to him the whole time they had been there. When Hermione kissed him in front of her parents because he had been nice to the kid, he decided that he'd like to do this again.

When it was over, Hermione told her parents that the two of them will go ice skating. His pride and his ass had never taken such beating in his whole life.

When they came back to the house at sundown, he expected that the Grangers spent Christmas with only the three of them, now plus him. How wrong he was, when nightfall came and about twenty of her extended family members barged inside the house all jovial and loud.

When midnight struck, everyone started to kiss and hug each other, shouting out "Happy Christmas!" and then proceeded to sing Christmas carols while one of the relatives sat down and played the piano. After that, they ate.

Then after that Christmas, those traditions became his also. Every time he would complain to Hermione about this and that, but he knew that she knew that he really didn't mind these traditions and that she'd raise hell if they stopped practicing them.

"Happy Christmas, baby," he told her when he cornered her somewhere in the hallway one Christmas night a few years into their relationship.

"Happy Christmas," she returned happily, her arms wrapped around his neck. "We're standing under the mistletoe."

"Would you look at that?" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows before he lowered his lips to hers in a searing kiss. She was giggling when he pulled away, licking his lips. "You taste like strawberries," he moaned. "I love strawberries."

"Behave," she admonished.

He laughed then, because he had consumed this delicious, weird concoction called eggnog. A lot of it, actually, and he found out only too late that it was spiked. "I love you," he said in a singsong voice.

"Oh, great," she said. "You're pissed... but that's okay because I love you too."

He kissed her again, softly this time.

What Draco wouldn't give to have her back in his arms again? He stared across the sitting room of Malfoy Manor, gathered around with his parents and his parents friends with their family... her mother's youngest sister, Andromeda and her grandson, were also present because some time ago, they had reconciled and were now working on their differences.

After greeting them dutifully, he lurked in the farthest corner of the room, only wishing that he was at the Grangers' singing Christmas carols, downing numerous glasses of eggnogs, stealing kisses whenever he passed by his wife and then going home after Christmas feast so he can make love to her.

The atmosphere at the Grangers' was completely different from this one. Here, they wore only the best dress robes, some even sparkling and some too outrageous for such an intimate setting. Their ears, necks, wrists and fingers glittering with expensive jewelry.

Draco sighed, swirling the amber liquid sitting inside the glass he cradled in his hand. "Fuck," he whispered, his pain as strong as when he realized that his wife left him. So many questions and no answers. What the bloody hell happened to her?

"Knut for your thoughts?"

He glanced up at the speaker. "Hello, Mother."

"You still miss her, don't you?" Narcissa asked gently, sitting across from him, placing her hand on his arm.

"Of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I? I love her. I've been searching all over for her. I've even resorted to working with Potter. He doesn't know where she is either. None of them do. I feel like I'm going insane. I need..." he paused. "I need her. I need her back in my life." He hated the way his voice broke as he spoke.

She stared down at him sadly. "Maybe it's for the best, Draco."

He gave a bitter laugh. "The best for whom, Mother?"

She hesitated. "For everyone."

"You don't understand." He glared at her. "Not that I'm trying to make you understand. Just leave me alone." He sighed when he realized that he was being disrespectful. "I'm sorry, Mother, I'm quite testy. Please... just... go."

"I'm sorry," Narcissa said softly. She stood up and walked away, with her shoulders uncharacteristically slumped.

He glared at his mother's back. He knew that she wasn't really sorry. Both his parents were against their marriage and almost always voiced it out to him. Why couldn't they just see her the way he saw her? Why couldn't they get over their prejudice like he had? Why couldn't they just be happy for him?

"Oof," a little voice grumbled not far from where he was sitting.

Draco got to his feet, placed his glass at a table and bent over to help the toddler who was lying on her stomach. "You okay? Here, let me help you up."

"Hullo," the toddler told him who bounced as if she just didn't fall flat on her face.

"Where's your mother?"

"Over there." A tiny finger pointed to a familiar redhead standing in the middle of the room, with an arm draped over one of Draco's old classmates in Hogwarts, Blaise Zabini. Her head was thrown back as she laughed at something Zabini said. Lacey Hurst didn't seem to notice that her daughter was not with her.

He glowered at the two of them and went knelt down so he could speak to the kid. "Imogen. That's your name, right?"

She nodded.

Imogen was a cute kid, Draco noticed. Her hair was as red as her mother's and there were freckles across her little button nose. She can pass off as a Weasley, he thought amusedly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No!" she all but screamed. "Let's play!"

His brows rose. "Okay?"

His heart clenched again. Before Hermione left all those months ago, they were trying for a child. They both wanted it so much but she had a condition that made it difficult for her to conceive. She wanted a girl and she wanted her name to be Victoria. He wanted a boy and he wanted his name to be Scorpius.

Imogen, he noticed, was grinning up at him brightly, expectantly. "Oh. What do you want to play, little girl?"

"Ride horsey."

"I assume I'm the horsey," he said dryly. "No, sorry. What about..." he thought hard and with his exceptional magic skills, he conjured a small, bouncy ball. "Catch? Let's play catch."

Imogen shook her head frantically. "No ball. Play dolly?"

"Dolly," he repeated helplessly. "Okay... where's the dolly?"

It just so happened that Imogen had little tiny dolls in her back pocket which suddenly grew in size after a few moments.

After several minutes, he found himself charmed by the kid and not long after, he was enjoying himself.

He cursed her mother in his head though. Lacey Hurst was a conniving woman who had no morals. He can't believe the drastic change she went through in adulthood. When they were younger, she was sweet. Now she was a mean old bitch who didn't care if she stepped in anyone's toes to go after what she wanted.

Not long ago, her sights were on him. He thought she was interested in meeting with him so they could get reacquainted and pursue their friendship. Lacey told him that she had a muggle boyfriend and when she told him that she was a witch, he left her because he thought she was a loon. He didn't care about the kid. The poor kid. They went out for lunch and dinner and all those times, she always cried over the muggle. Until one evening when he had one too many drinks - his fault entirely - and she took him to her flat. After undressing him, she touched him inappropriately. At first he was confused and then when he realized what she was doing, he screamed at her and left. That was the last he'd seen of her. The nerve of that conniving witch!

Now her sights were set on Blaise Zabini, who was also married. Draco smirked. The difference between him and Zabini was that Zabini had absolutely no qualms about cheating on his wife. Lacey might make a conquest out of him after all.

"Draco," Lacey said coolly from above his head.

"Lacey," he returned, his voice void of any emotions. "Zabini."

His old Slytherin classmate inclined his head in reply. Although Draco got along with him back during the Hogwarts days, that wasn't the case now.

Lacey turned to look at the dark-skinned man standing beside her. She clung to his arm. "This is my poor Imogen whose muggle father just up and abandoned us," her voice soft and innocent, and her lower lip protruding in a pout that Draco found so annoying that he wanted to punch her in the face.

"The bastard," Blaise hissed dramatically. "I'll kill that bloody muggle if I ever find him."

Draco snorted. So she was playing that card, was she? And hot bloody damn, it seemed that Zabini was falling for it like he himself had done. He dropped the doll he was holding and got to his feet. "It was nice to meet you, Imogen." He meant it. Poor kid was being used by her own mother to get what she wanted. Without another word to the two idiots, he left and reclaimed his seat at the far corner of the room.

Being a man can suck sometimes. Big blue eyes, pouty lips and a pair of great tits could bring just about any man to his knees.

Had Hermione known about Lacey's ploy?

He chuckled dryly. Of course not. He was careful not to mention the bitch to her. Hermione had the tendency to be a bit possessive - a trait that he very much liked - and if he happened to mention Lacey to her, Hermione would get angry and stressed out or something. They were trying to get her pregnant and the healer they consulted advised that she should avoid stress at all costs.

Merlin, how he missed her.

He wasn't sure how managed to get through each without her in it... just the little glimmer of hope that any time she would walk in that door and everything would be okay again.

...would she be at the Grangers' tonight?

Shit! Why hadn't he thought of that?!

His heart started to race. She never, ever missed Christmas at her parents' place. Dare he even hope?

He didn't even bother to tell his parents where he was going. He merely rushed out of the room and disapparated. He reappeared in the Grangers' closed off backyard, right where he and Hermione always apparated to whenever they came there to visit.

As expected, the house was lighting up brightly with all the Christmas lights. And from outside, he could see her relatives' laughing and singing because the curtains were drawn. He didn't knock. He didn't have to. He used the back door that led straight to the kitchen. Merlin. His hands were shaking and he could guess that he might look a bit pale.

"Mum," he called out as soon as he caught sight of Hermione's mother. Mum, she insisted that he call her.

"Draco! You're here! Where's Hermione?" Mrs. Granger hollered with a bright smile and quickly approached him. "Are you feeling better now?"

"What?"

"Hermione came by not too long ago. She said you had the flu that's why you couldn't come. Oh dear, you do look a bit pale. Do you want to head upstairs and lie down?"

Fuck. She was here. And her parents didn't know that she left him. She bloody lied to them. "I think I just missed her," he managed to say.

"She left not thirty minutes ago."

"Where did you think she went? Ah... she wasn't home when I le-left."

"I'm not entirely sure. She told us she was in a hurry to get home." Mrs. Granger chuckled. "Maybe she was in some other room when you left. The library most likely. I wouldn't be surprised. Your penthouse apartment is as big as this house."

He forced a smile but it didn't manage to reach his eyes. "Yeah," he forced out. "I'd better get home. She's probably there, wondering where I am." How he wished those words were true. "And I don't feel well. Quite terrible actually."

"I can see that." She reached up and pinched his cheek. "You go home and rest. What rotten timing that flu is? It's Christmas! Hermione will take care of you."

Tears prickled at the back of his eyes. "Happy Christmas." It wasn't.

"Happy Christmas, Draco."

He flew from the house, his head hung and his shoulders heavy, like he was carrying the entire world over them and he found himself standing in an empty street all alone, while the others who lived in that suburban area were inside their warm homes filled with Christmas spirit.

She lied to her parents. She never lied. She abhorred lying. He lied all the time which always angers her.

Why the bloody hell would she do that?

Why did she have to pretend?

Why did she really go out of her way just so she could avoid him?

What did he do?

Where did it all go wrong?

Fuck!

Anger simmered from the top of his head. He wanted to whirl objects around. He wanted to kill someone. He had never been this angry in his life before. Merlin! If she didn't love him anymore, why didn't she just say so instead of running off and torturing him this way?

He hated her for it.

No. No. "I didn't mean that," he said out loud in the darkness of the evening, the lights glowing brightly, taunting him. "I don't hate you. Just come back to me."

A cry of anguish tore from his throat and then he ran, but he didn't where he was going nor did he care. He was lost emotionally and literally.

* * *

**December 2008, Christmas Day**

The next morning, he stared up at the ceiling. His mind entirely blank. He actually felt numb at the realization that Hermione pretty much up and left him because she wanted to, not because she had to.

What about their marriage? They had their magic and souls bounded by marriage. There was no going back to it, unless they'd found a Dark Wizard to perform the dissolving ritual which was entirely illegal and all involved parties would no doubt be thrown in Azkaban.

I don't want to wake up one day and find that you're not there when I wake up in the morning because when something goes wrong, if - when - we do this, we don't have to worry because we're going to be stuck together for life, he'd told her two years ago when they accidentally eloped.

'Accidentally eloped' was what they called that fateful day. It was supposed to be just a vacation in Paris when the thought of getting married to her occurred to him. It wasn't hard to convince her that day knowing that she wanted the same things.

The silence of the home was eerie.

Ruined by the loud pounding of a hand on the door and the insistent ringing of the doorbell. It grated on his nerves. He ignored it. It was Christmas. And he was without his wife. What the fuck do they want? Why couldn't they just leave him to wallow in misery?

It went on and on.

It didn't seem that whoever was behind that door was going to give up soon.

With a lot of effort, he dragged himself out of bed, out of the bedroom and to the front door.

When he opened it and saw who it was, he groaned.

Whatever Harry Potter had to say, he didn't want to hear it because in truth, he was afraid because his blank expression suggested that it wasn't good news. Not at all.

What if he'd found her and he'd say she's dead? What if she'd found someone else? What if! What bloody if! At first, when she'd been gone for over a week, he was just about to die from worry, believing that she was taken against her will... but when Draco came home from work one day, all of her clothes, shoes and bags were gone.

"We found Hermione," Harry finally spoke, his tone seemingly sad.

Draco paled. "Where is she?" When the other wizard didn't say anything after a long moment, he screamed, "Tell me, Potter!"

"Aqua Falls," Harry said quickly. "A very small town in Paulsgrove, Portsmouth. She lives alone at a small cottage at a bit secluded area of the town. She's working as a librarian at the local library and, Malfoy..."

Draco held his breath, his brows raising expectantly.

"She's eight and a half months pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

"I need you to sign my request for a vacation leave, Weasley. Three weeks."

"Three weeks!" Percy Weasley sputtered, his ears turning red, reminding Draco of Ron Weasley. "That's completely unheard of, Malfoy! I know how much you love kissing Carleton's ass but I doubt that he'll approve. And I've got a shitload of work for you to do. Three weeks' vacation! No way!"

"Listen, Weasel," Draco growled. Old habits die hard. "It's an emergency."

"What a load of crap. I'm your supervisor, Malfoy. Unless you want your bloody promotion, you'll stay here and work." Percy smiled stiffly. "Instead of gallivanting off to somewhere. You should be thankful that we even accepted you in this department when you should have been locked up in- "

"Look," he cut the redhead off, his patience wearing thin. "I'll finish everything you need me to do for the next weeks by Friday. I'll work on it overtime. This is really, really important."

"I don't care," Percy told him indifferently. "What's more important than your job here in the Ministry?"

Finding my estranged wife, that's what! "There's more to life than career, Weasel. You should know that. You're married with kids."

Percy snorted. "You're one to talk. You've been working here a lot lately when Hermione's used her maternal leave some months ago..."

Why the fuck didn't he know that?

"...how is she by the way?" Percy was asking. "She hasn't come to visit Mum and Dad for several months now. You need to ease up on her, Malfoy. We think that you're forbidding her to come see us. I know you don't like my family but it's Hermione's family too. We were her family before you."

Draco fought the urge to just throw himself at the git and beat the shit out of him. Percy Weasley did not even get along with any of his siblings. "As if anyone can forbid Hermione to do something she wanted." He hesitated. "She doesn't want to take any risks when it comes to the pregnancy. She has to take it easy."

"Whatever, Malfoy. I will grant you one week vacation. If you want three weeks, you'll have to run it over with Carleton... which I advise you not to. Your promotion is at risk if you do."

"I don't care about the bloody promotion anymore!" He roared. "Three weeks or I'll quit." A thought occurred to him. "Think you're so high and mighty, do you? You want me to run this over with the Minister for Magic instead?"

Percy Weasley was demoted from undersecretary to the Minister's Office to a mere supervisor in the Department of International Magical Cooperation for a reason. Actually despite Kingsley Shacklebot's close friendship with the entire Weasley family, he wanted someone to work as undersecretary without too much ideas. The Dolores Umbridge episode left the entire Ministry a bit weary.

Now, Draco wasn't kidding when he said that he would run over the vacation leave with Shacklebot. He was one of the people who encouraged everyone to 'give the young Malfoy a chance' and despite it being a bit embarrassing for him, Draco would always be grateful. Shacklebot was one of the few people that Draco was actually, genuinely nice to and to everyone's surprise, Shacklebot seemed to see him as a friend.

Percy snorted again. "Is that supposed to be a threat, Malfoy?"

"No," Draco couldn't help say sarcastically. "I don't really need this job, Weasley, but you need me to do your shit for you while prowling about acting like commander-in-chief. So sign that damned request."

"Three weeks," Percy repeated, his voice suddenly weak. "That's too long."

"I've worked here for five years and not once had I filed a leave."

"Those unfiled leaves are automatically dissolved when you reach your anniversary and goes straight to your salary. Did you not read the handbook?"

No one read that shit. It was like the Hogwarts: A History. If anyone read the handbook other than Percy 'The Git' Weasley, it would probably be Hermione. "Sure," Draco lied.

The older man stared at him for a long moment and then he glanced down at the parchment that Draco slapped down on his desk. "Fine. It's your job that's on the line and not mine. Even if I do sign this, Carleton might not."

Draco fought the urge to sigh in relief out loud. "I'll convince him. Like you said, I do enjoy kissing his ass."

Percy signed his consent on the dotted line. Draco immediately snatched the parchment away and was already halfway out the door when Percy suddenly stopped him.

"You forgot about your advanced work, Malfoy."

He whirled around. There were suddenly two boxes perched on top of Percy's desk filled with parchments filled to the brim. He raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Paperwork." Percy grinned a bit maliciously. "Three weeks' worth as you requested."

"Bloody hell."

* * *

"Your brother-in-law is an ass," Draco told the famed wizard with a scar shaped like a thunderbolt on his forehead as he entered the office around seven in the evening of the same day.

"Which one?" Harry chuckled when he saw the parchments that littered the horizontal surfaces of Draco's moderately-sized office. There were a few on the floor. "Percy," he easily concluded.

"What are you doing here? I'm quite busy." He gestured to his office. "As you can see. Please leave. I need to finish all this shit by Friday evening so I can leave first thing Saturday morning." He eyed Harry wearily. "Unless you have news?"

Harry took the seat in front of his desk. "I think it's better if you go to Aqua Falls alone, Malfoy."

"That's a great idea!" Draco exclaimed sarcastically. "I've been telling you that since the other day. You and your wife keep insisting you come both with."

"Yes... well..." Harry cleared his throat. "I have a portkey ready for your departure. When you get there, you hook the fireplace to the floo network immediately to ours so I - we - can reach you two with no hassle." He paused. "Hermione seems to be okay, so you don't have to worry."

"I'm glad she's okay." Draco meant that. I'm glad she's okay, even when I'm not. "But I can't not worry, Potter. It's been months. It's been months of hell. Imagine if your wife just disappeared on you without any warning. When you finally found her, she's living alone in a small muggle town and fucking pregnant!"

"It will kill me," Harry admitted. "I can't imagine what you're going through but I can imagine that it must be tough for you. I'm sorry."

Draco let out a short bark of laugh that was pure bitterness. "Maybe it's not my child. That's why she ran away- "

"Malfoy! No! Hermione would never do that. Do you really believe that?"

"I don't know what to fucking believe anymore!" Draco roared. "What if it's true, Potter?"

Harry sighed, his fingers coming up to rub his temple. "You're scared, I get it, Malfoy. But get a grip on yourself, will you? It's bloody painful to see you this way. I can't believe I'm saying this but what I wouldn't give to have the old, sarcastic, annoying ferret back."

Draco was too depressed to even be offended. "Me too, Scarhead."

"Your mood swings creep me out too. You're worse than Ginny when she was pregnant."

"I know, Scarhead."

"Whatever happens, Malfoy," Harry swallowed with difficulty, "If you need me and Ginny..." He let the sentence trail off. He and Malfoy had a peculiar relationship. They were like what muggle teenage girls would call frenemies.

Draco blinked when he had grasped what the other wizard was talking about. "Yeah. I get that. Thanks."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two men.

Harry broke it after some moments. "I'll just go, Malfoy. See me before you leave, will you?"

"Fine."

* * *

Draco woke up at dawn on Saturday, his stomach in knots.

He was finally getting to see his wife after a number of months that felt a lot like forever or more. He didn't know if he would kiss her and throw her down on the bed and fuck her good for running away or just smack her in the face and then promptly go back to London so he can move on with his life. He didn't know how she would react when she saw him. Would she be glad? Would she be angry? Would he be sad? He didn't know how he would react when he saw her. Would he just drop to his knees and cry in front of her? Would he wrap his hands around her neck and choke her? Would he just kiss her, forget about everything and start over?

The last one seemed like the most appealing idea.

Potter had told him that the portkey will take him directly to the nearest secluded spot from the library instead of her home because at this time of day, they were sure that she would be there. He didn't have to walk far to see the road that led to the library just make sure to head up north from where he landed and he wouldn't get lost, Potter had said.

When he finally entered the library several hours later, he didn't expect the terrible pain in his chest when he caught sight of her in that damn library, carrying a small stack of hardbound books.

Potter wasn't lying. She really did look okay. She wore her pregnancy well. She was wearing a blue dress which shocked him because she rarely wore dresses. Her hair was still as brown and wildly curly as he remembered but she wore it in a bun at the top of her head.

She was facing the other way from him and even if she did face him, she wouldn't see him because he was hiding behind a shelf, peeking behind the gaps from the books. If anyone saw him like that, they would probably call him a stalker. Well, he felt like one. It was a good thing that the library was almost empty.

When her hands were finally empty, she suddenly whirled around, facing him.

He froze.

Fucking hell, she was still beautiful as he remembered, although she had plumped up in the best way. Her breasts seemed larger (he was her husband, of course that was the first thing he would notice), her cheeks were filled and flushed that had nothing to do with makeup but most likely had everything to do with her pregnancy, and her belly swollen with his child... Bloody hell-

Suddenly, her narrowed eyes met his between the books.

He felt a rush of panic. He wondered what she might do. He wanted to rush up to her, but he didn't move, he couldn't even breathe... then she blinked after a moment, shook her head and turned away.

The sight of her turning away from him made something inside him snap.

"Fuck," he muttered out loud and pushed away from the shelf. His anger seemed to overtake his senses. He strode over to her, his hands clenched in fists so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Halfway over, he froze again. A tall, muscular man just approached Hermione and scooped her up in his arms, twirling around. He laughed when she thumped him in the back with her fist, telling him to put her down.

Draco saw red. "Get your fucking paws off my wife!"

He heard Hermione gasp and when she faced him, she was ghostly pale, her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth parted. "Draco," she whimpered.

He stared at her, hard, but he spoke to the man. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

The man immediately stepped away. "Your wife?"

Draco raised his gaze to meet the taller man's eyes. "My wife. She's mine. Don't touch her. Don't look at her. Don't fucking do anything with her... or I'll kill you." His gaze hardened further. "Now fuck off."

"Draco."

He ignored her. "I said fuck off."

"Owen, please go."

When the man left silently after casting a long look at Hermione, Draco finally turned to look at her. "I don't know where to start," he said, his gaze hard and unflinching. "But maybe we can start with who the fuck is Owen and why is touching you like that?"

For the first time, he noticed her eyes were glistening with tears. "What are you doing here, Draco? How did you find me?" She bit her lower lip.

"Are you with him?"

"No, Draco! Answer my question!"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "How could you do this to me?" he whispered brokenly.

She stared at him incredulously.

"You ran away without a word in the middle of the night? I was dying with worry. I didn't know where you were, I didn't know how to find you. You - you fucking lied to your parents. You went to see them during Christmas Eve and told them I was sick at home - did you know you were pregnant when you left me?" When she didn't answer, he stepped forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Did you know?"

"Yes."

"Damn you." His hold tightened. "You would keep my child from me?" His nose flared when a thought occurred to him. "Is it even mine?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

The slap on his cheek was forceful enough for him to take a jolting step back, forcing him to release her.

"How dare you," she said through clenched teeth.

"What am I supposed to think? You left me, remember?"

Hermione remembered. The uncanny combination scent of firewhiskey and roses, murmuring the name Lacey and saying that he was worn out. Worn out from doing what? She wondered all this time. She couldn't ask him. She was afraid to hear the confirmation from his lips. "Go back to London, Draco. I can't do this anymore with you. I can't make this work."

"You mean our marriage?" he spat out bitterly. "I thought you loved me. You said you loved me. We promised each other that we would always work things out. What happened to that? You ran away. I'm sure you'll make your fucking Gryffindors proud for that move. Merlin, Hermione! We're married. You don't just run away and hide! Fuck! Doesn't our marriage mean at least something to you? Don't I mean something to you? What about the fact that you're pregnant, huh?"

"Don't make it harder than it already is." She glared at him. "Of course it meant something to me. It meant everything to me. It's you- "

"That's a lie!" He cut her off. "If it did then what the fuck are you doing here? Is there someone else?"

"Yes! There's someone else! You- "

It was more than Draco could bear. Hearing that there was someone else coming from her lips was worse than when he was hit by the Cruciatus Curse that one time by one of the older Death Eaters back when he was sixteen. "I don't want to hear this!" he said harshly.

"You- " she tried again, but she was unable to say anything else as a pathetic whimper came out before loud sobs escaped from her throat and the tears in her eyes didn't show any signs of stopping any time soon. She turned away, hating herself for letting him see her like this. She thought that after all these months she would get hold of her emotions if or when she would finally see him again. It turned out she was wrong.

She heard a little noise from behind her, letting her know that he must have walked away.

A pain shot through her, hard and fast, making her hiss in pain. "Wha- " she gasped. Before she knew it, her knees had buckled and she was falling, bracing her hands so that she wouldn't land on her stomach.

She didn't.

A pair of hands had hooked themselves underneath her armpits and pulling her back. She stumbled against a hard body before she could move away. The same feeling went through and she hissed again. "Something's wrong," she managed through greeted teeth.

"Tell me," Draco's voice came out in a rasp against her ear. "Your skin is clammy."

"False labor," she panted. "It has to be false labor. I'm still a few weeks away from my due date. Can you help me to a chai- " She was unable to finish her sentence because he just lifted her up in his arms without warning and started to walk to the couch that was thankfully not far from where they were standing.

He placed her gently on top of it and knelt beside. His hands went up and brushed the curls that escaped the confines of the bun away from her face. "You're pale. Tell me what to do."

Her eyes were drooping as she gazed up at him. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Draco, I- " She suddenly jerked. "I can't have the baby yet. I can't. I have to make it stop," she hissed through the pain again.

Draco paled as well. "I have to get you to a healer."

When he made a move to stand up, she caught his wrist. "The last time we checked the baby is still breech. I planned to give birth the normal way but if I happened to be in labor right now, it would mean I would have to do it caesarean section because the head is not yet where it's supposed to be."

"What does that mean?" Sweat beaded at Draco's upper lip. "What's going to happen to you?"

"Caesarean section means that they will cut open my abdomen to get the baby."

"Wha- " Draco's heart started to beat faster. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"It will be more dang- " she cut off as her body jerked because of the rush of pain across her uterus, "m-more dangerous if I give birth to the baby with the bottom facing my opening."

"We have to get to St. Mungo's."

"No," Hermione moaned. "There's no way I can apparate in this condition. Nor do we have any floo connections open around that I know of. The hospital is just fifteen minutes away from here. If I'm in labor right now which I'm probably not, I'd have plenty of time. These things take hours." She closed her eyes, forcing herself to relax. "This is just false labor," she said again. "I've felt it before. All morning, in fact."

"Uh- Hermione," Draco said uncertainly. "I think you just peed..."

Her eyes flew open in panic. "I didn't pee, you idiot! My water broke!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

Hermione started to cry. "I can't do this," she whispered, her arms so tight around Draco's neck that she was almost choking him. "I don't want them to cut me open. Draco, don't let them do it."

It was only then that it occurred to Draco that she was scared. Whoever this 'someone else' she spoke of, wasn't here now. He was. He would take care of her no matter what. "We're going to let them do whatever keeps you and the baby safe."

She buried her face in his neck familiarly. "I'm terrified," she admitted in a whisper.

He steeled his heart against her ticklish whispers and whimpers that made him just want to curl around her and protect her from any hurt that may come her way. She left you, he reminded himself, and she confessed that there was someone else. "You're shaking."

"I'm only 36 weeks along. She's coming out a bit too early. She will be frail and small."

"She?"

"We have a girl, Draco."

Draco wasn't sure how much more pain he could take at everything she threw at him. It was more than one man could bear in less than an hour. He didn't say anything else as he sat there in the cab with her on his lap and her arms around his neck in silence, on the way to the hospital. No matter how much she hurt him with words, he couldn't just stay away. He must be a masochist. Surely he must be. Especially when she would gasp out or whimper when a contraction hit her, he would tighten his hold on her and once - he even kissed her on the temple softly like he had always done. He was a bloody idiot. A bloody, masochistic idiot.

Right now he didn't care if he was such. The only thing that mattered was that he was holding his wife for what seemed like after an eternity. He could smell cinnamon and vanilla. She'd been wearing that combination of smell ever since he could remember. Maybe he was dreaming. He probably was. Either way he didn't want to wake up.

She had someone else? Well fuck that! He was the husband. He was going to prove to her that there was none that could compare to him. He was going to have her back. It was the only place she belonged. This someone else could be just a novelty to her. He could forgive her for looking elsewhere. They'd been through much worse before and would probably go through much worse in the future.

"Do you think..." he whispered.

"What?"

"Maybe we could..."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Never mind." He was overwhelmed, that's all. Seeing her after a number of months, seeing her being twirled around by another man - Owen the bastard - and then her going into labor, his brain was all jumbled. He needed more time to process this before he would make a decision.

"We're here," the cab driver announced as the vehicle drew to a halt right in front of the hospital.

Quickly, Draco fished his pockets for money but only found gold coins. He didn't have muggle money.

Before he could tell Hermione, she already pushed a few bills into the driver's waiting hand. The door then opened and there was a wheelchair waiting for her. A medical orderly quickly helped Hermione into it and Draco got out, trailing after them quickly inside the hospital as the orderly announced to the nurse station that Hermione was in labor.

His hands were shaking as they quickly settled Hermione into a private room where they stripped her bare and bundled her into a thin gown that the hospital requires of the patients. She was going to give birth to his baby. It was his. Their baby girl. He was sure. He knew what he said earlier. He didn't mean to say it. He was just angry. He was hurt so he wanted her to hurt her back.

His eyes wandered over to her face and for the very first time ever since he had ever known her, there was pure terror on her face. Her brown eyes were wide and unfocused.

Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy was indeed terrified as she claimed.

He recalled the time when she was being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange as he watched helplessly. She was scared and in pain, he knew it then, but it was nothing to compared to what was clear in her face now.

Her gaze flew to his and it was all he could do not to fall on his knees before. "Baby," he said, reaching out to place his hand on top of hers. "Everything will be okay."

"You don't know that," she replied shakily. "Nothing in life is ever sure. Especially not this one."

He didn't know what to say to that because there was nothing more real than her words. Nothing in life is ever sure. He flashed back to when he was sixteen years old; Voldemort had ordered him to kill Dumbledore or else, his family would get killed instead. Then some things happened and he and his family were free, given a second chance in life when everyone knew - including themselves (though too proud to admit it, except of course, Draco) - they didn't deserve it.

"Hermione," a voice broke through his thoughts. "We need you to calm down. There is nothing to be afraid of," the voice softened considerably as she promised, "You will be fine."

Hermione clutched Draco's hand tightly. "Okay," she whispered. "Thank you, Dr. Adrienne."

He glanced over his shoulder. "Thank you," he echoed softly.

Dr. Adrienne Raymond acknowledged Draco with an incline of her head before she moved on the other side of Hermione's bed. "We need to get an ultrasound of the baby to see if she's still breech since the last time we had an appointment."

Draco still held Hermione's hand as the doctor opened Hermione's gown, rubbed a clear gel-like substance on her bulging stomach, then proceeded to push buttons on an electronic device with a monitor that he hadn't noticed earlier before the doctor rolled a thing that was attached to the device over Hermione's stomach.

"We need to do it via C-section. It's a frank breech and your hips are too small for us to manipulate the baby around. Not to mention the fact that your water broke, I'd rather do the procedure as soon as possible. I don't want to risk an umbilical cord prolapse on top of everything else." The doctor wiped away the gel from Hermione's stomach and closed the gown.

"What does that mean?" Draco couldn't help but ask.

"An umbilical cord prolapse may diminish the oxygen flow to the baby," Dr. Adrienne answered. "Not that she's in danger of that yet. There's a very small chance that will happen but I just want to stay on the safe side."

Despite the assurance, Draco trembled a bit.

The doctor turned away from the two of them and spoke to the nurse standing on the foot of the bed.

Draco turned to look down at Hermione. "I don't trust these muggle healers," he confided. "You and the baby will be safer if treated at St. Mungo's."

"Doctor. Dr. Adrienne is a brilliant OB/GYN and neonatal surgeon," she replied softly. "I would not have chosen her if she didn't have an exceptional background."

"I don't care what she's called- "

She cut him off by pulling her hand from his and turning her head away from him impatiently. "I'm not in any condition to argue with you when my baby's life is at risk." She paused, staring straight ahead. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you."

Draco fought the urge to growl in frustration. "I don't want to leave you. At any cost," he said tightly. "You did the leaving or don't you remember?" He turned away from her before she could say anything. He approached the doctor. "If anything happens to her and/or the baby, I will sue you and this whole hospital."

The doctor met Draco's gaze unflinchingly. She'd heard this a thousand times before. And she also knew better to make any promises to her patients. "I'll do everything I can... but I assure you, I'm quite confident that the both of them will get through this without difficulty... now if you will excuse me, we need to prep her for surgery."

Draco collapsed on a nearby chair when he was left alone with Hermione in the room, bent over his knees and his head in his hands.

"Have you named her?" he asked quietly, lifting his head to look at Hermione.

"Verity," she said softly.

It wasn't fair, he thought. He was supposed to have a say in what the baby's name should be... but it was a good name. He liked it a lot actually. "That's a nice name," he managed to say.

"I haven't chosen a middle name for her yet," she replied carefully. "You can... you know... choose her second name."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"

She nodded.

He thought about it for a moment. "At first I want it to be Narcissa..."

She blanched visibly but he didn't notice.

"...but not anymore. The first Christmas we spent together, you gave me a book. The lead character reminds me so much of you. She's very intelligent, strong-willed, stubborn but can also be a bit cunning and manipulative if she wanted to be," he chuckled. "Then for some reason, I imagined that's how a child from the two of us would also be... Pyxis, her name was, after a constellation. How convenient is that?"

"Pyxis," Hermione whispered. "Are you sure?"

"Verity Pyxis Malfoy."

"Granger."

Draco frowned. "What?"

"Verity Pyxis Granger Malfoy," she said.

"Oh. Of course." He lowered his eyes. "You like the name then?"

"Yes. I do." The corner of her lips twitched but it did not reach a full smile. "It's very... unique, to say the least."

"Yes, well..."

An uncomfortable silence fell.

It was interrupted later by a knock on the door and it opened before they could speak. A team of nurses and doctors barged in, making Draco stand up from his seat in alarm. They poked a needle in her arm and pushed a small tube thing in her arm that was attached to a bag of some substance that he had no idea what it was.

What the fuck is going on? Draco thought as he started to pace. This is why I don't trust these muggle hospitals and their doctors. They use so much stuff that looked a bit dangerous. At least at St. Mungo's, they use clean, safe and sure magic.

"Are you her husband?" A nurse asked and before he could answer, she spoke again. "You can come with me now so I can get you in your sterile scrubs for the operating room. She'll be under regional anesthesia as she requested which means that she'll be awake during the operation. I would advise you to stay by her head the entire procedure and not touch her at all..."

He swallowed with difficulty. "Okay."

A while later, they were transferred to the operating room with a small army of doctors and nurses. Hermione was lying on a bed in the middle of the room with a bright light focused on her stomach. There was a blanket held up by a couple of nurses that curtains around the stomach.

As instructed, Draco was standing by Hermione's head.

"I can't feel a thing from the waist down," she confessed in a whisper, looking up at him. "It's so odd."

Draco smiled down at her underneath his mask. "That's what you wanted."

"I want to see her before they stitch me up and get me to sleep." Her eyes drifted close. "Draco, despite everything, I'm glad that you're here with me right now. I - I -"

"Shh," he interrupted. "We can get through this." He wasn't just referring to the operation procedure, but also their relationship.

She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off.

"Whenever you're ready, Hermione," Dr. Adrienne announced behind her mask, positioned over her stomach.

Hermione's eyes raised to Draco's alarmingly.

"I'm here," he said. "I won't leave you no matter what."

She took a deep breath and regarded Dr. Adrienne. "Cut me open, Doc."

The doctor chuckled and started to do as she asked, her scalpel poised over her stomach. "Ok, Hermione, I'm starting now the only thing you should feel is a lot of tugging and pulling. If you feel any pain let me know."

Draco's eyes were on her stomach. They widened as he watched the blood oozing out from her as Dr. Adrienne split her skin open. "Fuck," he whispered as sweat started to bead at his upper lip.

"Don't look," Hermione said faintly, fighting the urge to laugh. "Talk to me instead. Distract me. It's odd that I'm wide awake while they prod my insides. God, how gruesome."

"You should have slept and I should have been left behind those close doors. I feel lightheaded."

The other people chuckled softly around the two of them.

"Don't you dare faint on me and Verity, Draco Malfoy. You stupid ninny."

"I'm not stupid!" His eyes kept darting between her face and her open stomach. "What are those? It looks like your intestines. Bloody hell. Years ago, I told you that I wanted to know everything about you. I did. I still do. What I had in mind didn't actually include your... intestines."

"Don't watch I said!"

"Oh," he groaned, "there's so much blood."

"I can't wait to tell Harry and Ginny."

"Don't you dare tell the Potheads, Hermione Malfoy."

"Granger."

"Fine. Hermione Granger Malfoy. Bloody hell."

"And stop cursing. You're worse than Ronald on a bad day."

He sneered. "Don't compare me to the Weasel. Ever."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Then stop cursing so much or I'll he- ah- cut off your tongue."

He snickered at her slip-up. "Oh, I think it's you who better watch her tongue."

"We can see her now," Dr. Adrienne cut in their conversation. "Just in case you two are interested."

"Trying to be funny, Doc?" Draco replied dryly.

"Draco," Hermione warned.

"It won't be long now," the doctor told Hermione. "Would the father like to cut the cord?"

"The what?"

"The umbilical cord," Hermione said to Draco.

"I don't really know what that is."

"It's the thing inside the belly button."

"Oh. The thing. Okay. I'll do it," Draco said excitedly to the doctor. When they were trying to get pregnant, they read books together on everything they needed to know on babies and pregnancy and whatnot.

"Good. She's here... okay... we're just going to..."

Draco's eyes widened when he caught sight of the baby - their baby - for the very first time. They inserted something in her mouth for a brief moment then her nose before a very, very loud wailing was heard over the room.

"Oh," Hermione whispered, her eyes suddenly flooding with tears. "Give her to me. Please."

"In a moment," the doctor answered gently and then she turned to Draco, holding up a pair of surgical scissors. "Will you do the honors?"

He cut the cord then, ignoring the shiver that went through him as the scissors cut through the squishy feeling of the cord. It made him a little queasy.

After that, everything else passed by in a blur. Verity was cleaned up, bundled tightly in a protective cocoon made of blanket. She wasn't wailing anymore. Hermione cuddled the baby against her breast, still crying silently and he, also admittedly shed a few tears, bent over the two of them. The doctors still worked on Hermione's stomach, closing up the incision.

"She's magnificent," Draco whispered.

"I love you," Hermione said.

Draco froze, wondering if those words were for him, but when he looked at her, she was smiling through her tears as she peered lovingly at Verity.

"I love you so much, Verity. I'm going to give you the world."

For some reason, Draco felt an intruder, but he pushed those feelings away. She was his wife and the pink wrinkled little caterpillar was his daughter. "She looks like you," he said softly.

"No," she countered. "She looks like you."

"Are you grumbling?"

"No."

"It sounded like you are." Draco was mildly amused. "Whoever she looks like, she's going to be beautiful - scratch that, she is." Puckered face and all.

He hadn't held her yet, Hermione realized. Nor had he offered to. She can see in his eyes that he wanted to, but was a bit scared to ask for some reason. "Would you like to hold Verity?"

He hesitated. "I don't know how to. I might drop her."

"You won't," she said firmly. "It'll be alright. Do it just like this. Be careful to support her head."

Because she won't be able to move due to the fact that she was still being operated on, he maneuvered carefully so that he would be able to clutch her daughter. With utmost delicacy, ignoring the frantic beating of his heart, he managed to get her in his arms and against his chest.

It was the best feeling in the world.

It was also short-lived when a nurse approached and informed him that they have to take her to clean her up and take tests and some things Draco didn't catch. He didn't want to let go. He wanted to keep her right there with him, damn all of them.

"It's okay," Hermione told Draco softly. "You can see her later. It will only be an hour or so."

Reluctantly, he gave Verity up to the nurse and quickly, they were gone.

Then another nurse approached Draco, telling him that he was not needed in the operation room any longer. They were just going to patch Hermione up and take her to the recovery room. He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay beside her. He wanted to shout at them, tell them to fuck off.

"I'll see you later," Hermione said softly.

Sad was such an understatement to what he was feeling that moment and he was pretty sure that it was evident on his face because Hermione shot him a look that was meant to reassure him, but it hadn't.

* * *

**_Author's notes: _**

_The book Draco mentioned that Hermione gifted to him does not exist. The name I chose is indeed, a constellation. Pyxis (/ˈpɪksɨs/; Greek: box) is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. It is located close to those forming the old constellation of Argo Navis (the ship Argo)._

_I'm glad that you guys are enjoying this fic! I've been getting 10 to 15 story follows each day and that is just awesome!_

**_Medical jargon (according to Wikipedia):_**

_breech birth - the birth of a baby from a breech presentation, in which the baby exits the pelvis with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head-first presentation._

_frank breech - the baby's bottom comes first, and his or her legs are flexed at the hip and extended at the knees (with feet near the ears); 65–70% of breech babies are in the frank breech position._

_neonatal/neonatology - a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn infant._

_(umbilical) cord prolapse - when the umbilical cord precedbes the fetus' exit from the uterus. It is an obstetric emergency during pregnancy or labor that imminently endangers the life of the fetus._

_regional anaesthesia during C-section - allows the mother to be awake and interact immediately with her baby._

_**P.S., **__I'm not a med student and I've never been pregnant. This is written purely based on research alone. If there are some things I wrote wrong, please inform me and I will make the necessary changes as soon as possible. Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

Draco remembered the first time he kissed Hermione. It was some time mid-December before Christmas of 1999. During a group discussion and one Ravenclaw whose name he didn't remember called him out but Hermione had all but screamed at the younger boy to shut up. He felt embarrassed that she defended him when he'd always been horrible to her, so he walked away, determined to forget what just happened.

He didn't expect that she'd go after him.

He tried to ignore her. He told her to leave him alone. Before he rounded the corner, he was supposed to scream at her again but she looked pretty in the daylight as she ran, flushed and her riotous hair flying wildly around her face. He had frozen in his tracks.

He couldn't help himself. He needed to do it.

He kissed her and found out that reality had been way better than his fantasies.

The kiss caused him totingle all over his body until he pushed her against the castle wall but since he was an inexperienced teenager at that time, he didn't do much, just simply kissing her on the lips and hugging her close to him. It was innocent and sweet. A far cry from the fantasies he conjured since fourth year, the night of the Yule Ball. He never thought that he would actually be given the chance to kiss her then. After all, he was Draco Malfoy the pure blood elitist, hater of muggles and anyone who associated with them, practitioner of Dark Arts and a Death Eater, and she was Hermione Granger, a muggleborn, a do-gooder, Potter's best friend, Weasley's girlfriend, Longbottom's defender, a teacher's pet and so on and so forth.

He always wondered why she let him and why she kissed him back. She didn't know the answer to that either. She just said she felt like it. Then she asked him why he kissed her in return. He was at loss as well and just said that he felt like it.

He wanted to kiss her in the operating room of the hospital.

He wanted to kiss her so much that it hurt.

Instead he had been more or less kicked out. He roamed the halls of the strange hospital like a zombie. His mind went back to all the kisses they shared at least those that stood out in his memory.

It would take a couple of hours before Hermione could be brought back to her private ward from the recovery room, they told him, just in time for her to start nursing their baby. There weren't any complications in the operation, which he was thankful for. It wasn't actually that bad, he thought to himself. And they assured him that Verity was also healthy as a baby can be.

Verity Pyxis Granger Malfoy was a tiny little thing. Merlin. She was so precious, so lovely. Draco couldn't believe that he created her with Hermione. Despite Hermione's protests, he really thought that she looked a bit like Hermione. He could just imagine looking into Verity's eyes and it would be brown, like chocolate, as her mother's. He loved her eyes so he had high hopes for that. Her thin layer of hair was startlingly silver, just like his. He still wasn't sure about her nose, since it was tiny and flat, as well as her lips which was pursed into a thin line.

A thought occurred to him. Verity is the first female Malfoy born in over a several generations. How exciting it was! He thought that his parents would actually be delighted. They both confessed that they originally hoped he had been born a girl.

However, he didn't want to share the news yet with anyone... not until he cleared things up with Hermione.

Damn if he wouldn't win her back then.

He swore that he would.

A couple of hours later, he went back to Hermione's private ward to find her there, sleeping.

He watched her sleep, creepy maybe, but only because he liked to see her unguarded which was how she was when she was sleeping. Peaceful, like a child. He leaned over her in bed, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek with his thumb. It was softer than he remembered.

As he expected, her eyes fluttered open, because she had always been a light sleeper. A frown settled on her face.

He didn't pull away, just continued his ministrations on her soft cheek. "Can we go back to the way things were before?" he said softly without preamble.

Her frown deepened. "It's not that easy," she whispered.

"I never said it was. We always knew it was going to be tough for us. Whatever happened between us, Hermione, I want to forget it. I want to move on from it. There's no end for you and me. You should know that. I will never give you up."

Her lower lip trembled. "You're hurting me, you know."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"Actually," he said. "I don't."

Knowing that she would probably make another excuse, he leaned closer until his lips were on hers. He moved his lips, soft and tender, coercing her to take part and eventually, she did. It went on like that for a long moment, before he opened his mouth against hers, sneaking out his tongue and brushed it along her bottom lip. She didn't hesitate, she opened hers as well, and met his tongue halfway. He felt her hand drift to the back of his neck, pulling him even closer to her. He did, but still he braced his hands on either side of her so he wouldn't settle his weight on her.

"I missed you," he whispered between pulls of lips, "I missed the feel of you, the taste of you." He tilted his head, deepening the kiss ever further, his tongue invading her mouth fully, making her moan softly.

She slowed the kiss down, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders to push him gently away. "I don't know how to fix this, Draco."

"I don't either," he confessed, his eyes sad as he leaned his forehead against hers. "We can figure this out. Together. This is non-negotiable, Hermione. Please say yes."

She hesitated. "I - I -"

He kissed her again, thinking that this could be a way to convince her to say yes. "I love you. Nothing has changed for me," he said against her lips. "And I know that you still love me too." He ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

"I do," she said. "I still do... but..."

"No buts," he interrupted, pleading. "We've been through a lot, Hermione. We've fought so hard along the way. We can't just let someone or something drive us away from each other. We're married, it means that we're going to make it work. All the time."

A small whimper escaped her throat. She was hurting, but he was also right. Could she let go of the fact that he'd been with his Lacey some months ago, move on and move forward with their marriage? She did love him, with everything she had, and maybe, just maybe, that she could find the strength. His reciprocation before she went into labor when she attempted to approach the subject was of some what a surprise to her. She saw the hurt and anger in his face. She concluded that he most likely regretted those events. She also recalled the strong stench of firewhiskey. What if he had been merely drunk and he had no idea what he was doing? Draco had always been a feather weight drunk ever since she could remember.

They could get through this, she thought. They still had a chance but only if she would let it. He was willing, more than willing in fact to work on their relationship, their marriage.

She couldn't deny it. Despite the pain of Draco's betrayal, she found herself still deeply in love with him. She placed her hands on either side of his face, looking into his eyes. "We'll move slow."

He smiled from relief then. "I love you."

She couldn't say those actual words back yet, so this time, she kissed him.

When she pulled away, he asked, "Do we get to talk about it?"

"Not yet..."

He sighed. "Fine. We still have the rest of our lives to talk about it." He kissed her again, addicted, since the very first day. "I wish you hadn't run away. I wish you'd stay and face me the way I know Hermione Granger Malfoy would."

"I- "

A knock on the door interrupted whatever she was going to say. The door opened, a loud wailing filled the room and a little cart was pushed inside by a couple of nurses.

Draco immediately straightened, his chest tightening with an emotion that he couldn't exactly comprehend, his hand itching to get a hold of his daughter. "What's wrong with her?" he asked worriedly.

"She's just hungry," the nurse told him as they pushed the cart forward and to the side of the bed. She picked up Verity and bounced her gently, to calm her down. "Ready to breastfeed, Mummy?"

Hermione laughed nervously. "How- ?"

The nurse smiled gently at her before turning to Draco. "Will you please help your wife in a comfortable position? Place these pillows behind her and please be very careful with her stitches or else..."

Or else... those words hung in the air, ringing in Draco's ears. His hands were shaking as he did what the nurse asked, slowly and very gently.

The other nurse stepped forward and propped something under Hermione's arm."This here is a nursing pillow, it will support your arms for the perfect elevation. I suggest you do a cross-cradle hold," she demonstrated, "to support her head and spine. Because of your stitches, I'd recommend you to put a pillow on your lap."

Hermione nodded frantically as she got comfortable. "May I hold her now?"

The nurses smiled. "Of course."

When Hermione was finally holding Verity, she regarded her baby with awe. "She's so tiny, isn't she?" she told Draco, who was sitting at the end of the bed, near Verity's head. "Verity, it's me, your Mummy. I can't believe you're really here," she whispered.

"I'll stay here and aid you through the breastfeeding," the nurse interjected.

The new-mother pushed down the front of her gown, exposing her swollen breast.

Draco swallowed. Merlin. He hadn't seen her naked in a long, long time... but of course, this was not the time to think about that. What a perv he was. He forced these thoughts away and concentrated on the fact that this was a precious moment in their lives. Mother and daughter are bonding for the very first time. Through her breast. Fuck. He wondered how long until he would get to bond with her himself. He gave himself a mental smack on the forehead.

Hermione tilted her arm, until her nipple was to Verity's mouth, but the baby rejected it. She glanced up at the nurses helplessly.

One of the nurses smiled encouragingly at her. "Push your nipple gently into her mouth. She'll suckle it on her own. You just have to be patient. A lot of mothers have difficulty especially the first timers. If she still refused, squeeze the nipple so a small amount of milk will be released into her mouth. It will encourage her to take it."

"I'll squeeze it for you if you want," Draco offered.

The nurses laughed. "We'll leave you three alone now. If there's anything you need, just press that button over there and someone will be over."

A couple of tries later, Verity still won't latch on her nipple, whimpering against her breast.

Hermione was almost crying herself, Draco noticed as he watched helplessly. "Patience, baby. You heard what those nurses said." He placed a soft kiss on her temple then scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Now as for you Verity, stop giving your mother such a hard time and start suckling."

She had to laugh at that. It felt good. It was the first time she laughed in a long time.

Much to their delight and surprise, after a few attempts, Verity accepted her nipple and started suckling vigorously. They watched in silence for a few moments. It was cozy, intimate and it belonged to only them, their family. Draco would give anything to make that moment last forever.

He knew better. "While you were in the recovery room, your doctor found me and told me your full recovery will actually take months." He frowned deeply. "But you'll be able to resume regular activities after six weeks or so, such as walking, house chores and... sex." He flushed slightly. "Not that I'm suggesting anything. I know that we still have to get back on track about us. I just want to clear things up if your going back to London with me or if I'll stay here with you. I have every intention of taking care of you."

"I expected that," she replied softly. "I'd like to stay here."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure." She nodded. "The cottage is small though and there's only one bed... Um..."

"I'll take the couch if that's what you want."

"You can stay with me and Verity." The corners of her lips twitched. "Since I can't move around that much yet, you can help me to the bathroom when I need to pee in the middle of the night."

That was the moment when he knew for sure that they can beat the odds... whatever those odds were. He still needed the answers from her and like he'd said earlier, they had the rest of their lives to talk about it but that didn't make him less frustrated. He can be patient. He had been patient for seven months, hadn't he? Surely he could wait until she was ready... or maybe when she has recovered from her major surgery, he could start demanding answers and verbally assault her until she caved in to tell him what he needed to hear, no matter how much it may hurt him or the both of them. They both needed it.

But first thing's first: they need to adjust to a life with Verity now.

Draco then realized that he had absolutely no idea on how to be a father. A good father. He didn't know one. Even though he loved his own father, it was general knowledge that he wasn't exactly 'world's greatest dad'.

Hermione, despite her bristling attitude, bookish ways and incompetency as a housekeeper, looked armed and ready to be a mother. Of course, he thought sadly, she had months to prepare for motherhood. He hadn't known. He wanted to blame her for that. He really wanted to. But he couldn't seem to bring himself to be angry at her anymore. He realized that the only thing that mattered was they were here together.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked softly.

Just about everything. "Nothing," he said instead. "I'm glad I'm finally here with you... and Verity of course, the surprise of my life."

She flushed guiltily.

"And I'm afraid I'm going to be like my father. I'll most likely end up spoiling Verity extensively, ignore her every time she displeases me, expect that she'll have the highest mark when she goes to Hogwarts and- "

"You know I won't let you," she cut in. "You're going to be great."

She sounded so confident that Draco almost believed her.

"I'll be right with you. We're great together."

Really? So why did you leave? He bit his tongue and just nodded his head. He dropped his eyes to Verity whose lips were still closed over her mother's nipple but had fallen asleep. "She's an easy baby to handle," he commented. "I remember Potter's second kid. He was loud. All the time."

Hermione grinned. "I remember." A pause. "Do you want to hold her while she sleeps? My arm's getting dull."

He didn't hesitate as he took Verity in his arms with ease. "So small," he murmured. "You should get some rest. I'll watch her. I'll stay just like this. Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when I need you."

He needed her less than an hour later.

A foul smell had filled his nostrils while he kept gazing at Verity's wrinkly, pink face.

She had pooped.

He dared to take a peek under her diaper and almost puked on his feet.

He was pretty sure a whimper escaped his throat. He didn't want to wake up Hermione. She hadn't said so but he knew that she was sore from her surgery.

So in desperation, he pushed the button to call a nurse. If there's anything you need, just press that button over there and someone will be over, a nurse had said earlier. Surely they wouldn't mind.

It turned out moments later that the nurse who came didn't mind at all. The nurse found Verity cute and that she liked the fact that she was one of the easiest babies she had to handle. She was amused at his reaction. She taught Draco how to wipe his baby's butt and how to put on a diaper.

When the nurse left, he started to devise a plan on how to avoid changing diapers forever.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

Draco did his best to take care of her as she recovered from surgery but there were no more shared kisses or any discussions about the status of relationship.

They talked like old friends but their topics were limited to work and the weather.

Both their guards were still locked in place.

The cottage was located a mile away from the town proper and the fact that it was secluded worried Draco. During Hermione's pregnancy, since she was alone, if she had an accident, no one will be able to know. He pushed those unnecessary thoughts away and concentrated on the cottage that he'd be staying with his family indefinitely. It was smaller than he expected, yes, but he had to admit that it was cozier and earthy than their penthouse apartment in London which was modern and fashionable. There was nothing in that cottage that was reminiscent of their home in the city. It was as if she was determined to cut off everything she'd known in her life. The red-brick cottage was just a blunt rectangle and a single story with a back porch that overlooks an inhabited open field. Quite charming, he had to admit as well. There was a car parked beside it. He recognized it as one of the Grangers' old cars that was rarely used.

It was three days after Hermione gave birth to Verity. By this time, she was able to move around but still with difficulty. There was a constant pain in her abdomen but she assured him that it was natural and it would be gone in a couple of weeks. The pain pills the doctor gave her were very helpful too.

With Hermione's permission, he hooked the fireplace to the floo network and directly to the Potters' but he didn't floo them yet.

"You actually took cooking classes in town?" he asked incredulously that evening of their first day in the cottage. Verity was sleeping in the bedroom while they were in the kitchen.

She nodded as she chewed. They were in the living room, sitting on the couch and eating some take out from the diner across the hospital they left earlier that afternoon. He had asked about what she had been doing over the months they had been apart. "I would prove it to you but as you can see, I am not yet capable of doing so." As soon as she finished speaking, she winced. The pain pills were starting to wear off.

Back in London, since both of them were hopeless in housekeeping, they always have take out. Her parents often came by with home cooked meals and his parents often sent an house elf to serve them for a couple of hours (which she never allows).

"Were you able to make anything edible at least?" he asked wearily, fighting back a smile.

She shot him a classic snooty Hermione look. "I've been cooking for myself since the first day I took my classes. They've been very helpful. Give me a couple of weeks to get back on my feet and I will show you better than I can tell you. My cooking may just blow you away."

He laughed lightly. "Oh, really? Alright, I'll take your word for it. The food in town is... a bit peculiar. Besides cooking, what else did you learn?" he asked, unable to stop himself from being curious.

"A few household charms," she replied noncommittally. "When I was pregnant, if I wasn't too tired I would grab a mop and a broom and do it myself."

Draco was amazed with these revelations so he told her.

She shrugged it off. "I decided to be practical. I'm going to be a mother after all. I don't really want to depend on someone else to do these little things for me. I can't drive into town every time I'm hungry."

"I'm here now," he reminded her. "Even though I'd rather get us a house elf- "

"Never."

"I know," he laughed. "So I was hoping maybe you can teach me too."

She was surprised but she didn't let it show. "That's a great idea. I'll be glad to." There was a smile in her voice.

He actually wasn't sure why he'd offer to actually learn household charms. It was appalling but he was trying to win her back, wasn't he? He wanted to do it because he wanted to please her and more than that, he wanted to be... well, a family man.

He was one now.

Whenever he and Hermione visited her friends' place, the Potters, he would laugh at Potter whenever his wife screamed at him to do the dishes or to clean the spot where Albus had puked.

He wanted to reach over and pull her to him. If the past several months didn't happen, they wouldn't be here in this old, rustic cottage and they wouldn't be sitting far from each other; they would have been in their fabulous penthouse apartment in London and they would sitting in their artfully decorated dining room and they wouldn't have to eat a greasy takeout dinner. No one did claim he was not a snob... but Hermione seemed to at home here and fine, he had to admit that the cottage had a 'homely feeling' that lacked their penthouse apartment.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.

It felt a lot like the start of their relationship back in 1999. Tentative, somewhat awkward but they were trying. It would have been funny had it not been for the fact that there were still things that will always come and haunt them.

After eating their dinner, they settled down on the couch, sitting side by side and Draco lit the fireplace with his wand. They had a good few inches between them when there should be none.

"Potter was the one who found your location by the way," he said, breaking the silence. "I never got around to tell you. Since it's been three days and he hasn't heard from me, he must be worried - not that I care how he feels - and I reckon he'll come barging in here soon."

She winced. "I'm surprised he isn't here yet. I'm guessing that the only reason he's not here is because he trusts you to... handle... things by yourself." She paused. "We can floo them right now if you want."

"I don't want to see them yet to be honest."

"It's fine. I..." she trailed off.

"You?" he prompted.

"I just want to say sorry for running away," she whispered, her gazed fixed on the fire. "I don't know why I did it. I just... it was just too much and I can't handle seeing you anymore." She could his gaze boring into her but she ignored it. "I shouldn't have snuck off in the middle of the night. I shouldn't have..."

"I agree," he said tightly. "You should have talked to me."

"I didn't I think I would be able to bear it."

"Christmas Eve," he choked out. "You went to see your parents and lied to them. You told them I was sick at home. You never lie. You're too honorable to lie to your own parents. But you did... and this is because me? You must have hated me."

"I didn't. I don't. I wanted to but I can't."

"I did nothing but love you... you know that, right? I understand that you've found someone else. You could have just told me."

Did he just- ? Stunned, she turned to him with her eyes open wide. "What are you talking about, Draco Malfoy?"

"You told me there was someone else. Is it that bloke in the library?"

"Who?" She was utterly confused by now. "Hold on, Draco. I was talking about your someone else. I've never..."

"Me?" he cut off incredulously. "You must be joking! I only have eyes for you! I only want you! And we're married! I'm faithful and loyal to you!"

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not," he said through clenched teeth.

"Then who is Lacey? Your sister? I didn't think so. I know everything, Draco," she said, ignoring the way he paled the moment she mentioned the other woman's name. "The past two weeks before I left, have you or haven't you been seeing her regularly?"

"Yes, I have bu- "

"The night I left, were you or weren't you with her?"

"Yes, I- "

She interrupted again with a growl and jumped to her feet, ignoring the intense pain that shot across her stomach by the sudden movement. "I rest my case. You accuse me of having someone when all along it has been you- " she broke off, because a sob escaped her throat against her will.

Draco stood up and clutched her shoulders. "Hermione, listen to me. Lacey was just a friend- "

"If you think I'll believe that- "

"I swear, Hermione. Please. I didn't tell you about her because I'm- "

"Guilty."

"No!" He roared. "I'm not. I never cheated on you."

"The night I left, you went to bed smelling like firewhiskey and roses. Roses! I hate roses! When I touched you, you pushed me away, you said her name and that you were worn out."

He stilled.

She regarded him grimly. "Now tell me you never cheated on me."

"I never cheated on you," he said slowly. "I thought you trusted me."

"I used to but your mother- "

"My mother?"

"That same day, she came by and told me all about Lacey," she spat out the name venomously. "I almost believed her but I believed in you more... but then that night, that happened, it was more than I could bear. You confirmed everything she said in just a few words."

"Baby- " Draco couldn't believe it. Everything was his fault. After all this time. He felt the tears welling in his eyes. "Baby," he rasped again. "Let me explain."

"You don't have to," she said softly, her anger dissipating. "I forgive you. I already gave you my word that we are going to fix this marriage."

"No, no, no... hear me out."

She thought about it for a long time before she finally said, "Okay."

"Lacey is an old friend of mine. She came to the Ministry, looking for me because she was virtually alone and she needed a friend. You taught me to be nicer to people, right? If you hadn't, I might have turned her away. So I relented. I made her tea and she told me that she was in love with this muggle but when she told him she was a witch, he called her insane and told her to have herself committed to a mental facility. She told him she was pregnant but he couldn't care less. She had nothing else. Despite being a pureblood, her family had never been rich. It was too late when I realized that everything had been a ploy. She wanted a fabulous lifestyle but because she was raising a daughter on her own, she couldn't afford it. I didn't know this yet when one evening we had a few drinks at a pub. It turned out it was right across from her flat. I had one too many drinks... I admit that this had been entirely my fault. I think I fell asleep on the table. When I woke up, I was in her place and she was fondling me."

Hermione tensed.

"I stopped her," he quickly added. "It did nothing to me, baby. I was too drunk for my body to actually respond. I pushed her away and I yelled at her a lot. She then confessed what she had been plotting all along. She knew I was married but she thought that perhaps I could take her on as my mistress. Find her a nicer flat than her current one and support her. What she didn't know was that I was - I am - happily married."

"I hate her," Hermione claimed fiercely.

"I do too," Draco responded gently. "Her current victim is Blaise Zabini. Do you remember him?"

She nodded. "He's your friend, isn't he?"

He shook his head. "Nope. We just got along during Hogwarts. His mother is friends with my mother so... anyway, it's not important." He groaned. "I've spent all this time being angry at you when all along it's been my fault. If only I had told you about her..."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I didn't want to stress you out. We were trying to get pregnant. The healer told us not to have you stressed. I'm convinced that you'll stress yourself over her. I know your jealousy issues, baby."

"Jealousy issues?"

He nodded, ignoring her overly incredulous tone. "You get possessive sometimes. Don't worry though, I like it." He paused. "Baby, will you ever, ever forgive me?"

"I already have even when I thought you cheated on me," she responded softly.

A few tears escaped from her closed lids when their lips met. He couldn't blame her. It has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for the past months. He stopped crying by this time but he felt like he still wanted to cry some more. Maybe he will... later... but right now, he had every plans of devouring his wife... well, her mouth since she can't do any strenuous exercise yet. Because exercise her, he will.

He wanted nothing more than to just throw Hermione over his shoulder and hop on top of her and then fuck her. They liked that kind of sex. The rough animal sex where they never hold anything back. Sometimes he spanked her. Sometimes she dug her nails on his back and ass, drawing blood. Sometimes they'd venture into something kinkier that was probably best not to mention.

He couldn't help himself though. He needed to feel her breast. So he did.

She pulled away and said, "Ow."

"What? What?"

"They're terribly sore," she admitted. "And you just made me leak."

He laughed. She laughed. They were back together. Everything was right in their world again...

He fell back on the couch with a sigh, bringing Hermione with him gently until she sat on his lap. She snuggled against him automatically. "You've gotten thinner," she observed.

He didn't bother to deny it. "For the past months, I haven't been eating or sleeping much."

"If I hadn't been pregnant I would probably have said the same."

"I'm glad you've taken good care of yourself and Verity." He sighed. "I don't want to sound so redundant, baby, but I'm sorry for everything."

"Shh," she said and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry too. We'll be okay. Although," she hesitated for a second, "I do want to hex your mother's nose off. Not for making me cry but for pawing off a gold-digging pureblood girl on you."

He stilled. "You really think that she's behind all of this?"

"Probably." She hesitated. "It's not that I'm trying to ruin your relationship with her but- "

"No," he interrupted softly. "Because I think she is. Christmas Eve at the Manor while I was sitting in the corner, she came to me and talked to me about you then she told me she was sorry."

She tried hard not to snort out loud. She settled on nuzzling her nose against his throat instead. "I don't want to talk about your mother, Draco. I want to relish this moment with you. I never thought I'd get to sit here with you like this again. Mmm." She kissed the spot above his pulse which she couldn't help but notice was beating rapidly.

"Me too, baby," he said huskily. "But I'm not going to pretend that the past seven months didn't happen."

"Kind of hard not to," she sighed. "We can't just pick up where we left off."

"No, we can't." He hugged her to him, tight enough to comfort but keeping in mind her stitches. "And we have Verity to think of."

As if on cue, Verity started to wail.

Draco pushed Hermione gently away so she can sit on the sofa before jumping to his feet.

"You take it easy," he said. "You stop moving around. I'll bring the babe here."

When he came back a few short moments later. "Y-you handle her..." He carefully placed Verity in Hermione's arms. "I... uh... need to..."

He practically ran from the room and out of the cottage.

Hermione scrunched her nose up when she knew why. "So your father's afraid of a bit of poo-poo, is he?" she laughed as she carefully stood up and strolled into the bathroom where she had set already set up a changing table weeks before. "I think I'll put him on night duty because of that. What do you think, Verity?" The baby continued to wail. "Yes. I'm glad you think so." She placed Verity on the table, peeled off her diaper and started to wipe her up. "Hey, your poo-poo is not so bad. Your father's just melodramatic. Always has been. Back when were still studying at Hogwarts... we weren't friends then... he got cut up by Buckbeak's nails. Buckbeak's a very nice Hippogriff. He let me ride with him once with your Uncle Harry. Anyway, your father scared off Buckbeak so Buckbeak scratched him and he acted as if he broke his arm."

"Don't tell her that," Draco said from the doorway. "You're going to make Verity think her father's a wimp."

"He is," she teased, still looking at Verity. "At least when we were teenagers."

"Is it safe to go in?"

She snorted. "I'm almost done wiping her up. I think you can handle putting on a diaper."

"I can." He walked inside the bathroom, his nose scrunching against the smell. "Is there any way we can get rid of the smell though?"

She rolled her eyes. "Draco."

He grinned at her. "I guess I'll have to just get used to it, huh?"

"Since you're on night duty, yes."

His eyes widened at that. "Me?"

"Yes. For a couple of weeks at least." She turned her wide eyes at him, a hint of pout on her lips. "You know I'm having a hard time what with the surgery and all."

His expression softened immediately as he came forward to take over diaper duty. "Of course, baby, whatever you need."

"Thank you. For the next few weeks we won't be getting any sleep."

"I know." He smiled. "Not sleeping is not new to me since you left. I can handle it. Trust me."

She smiled back. "It was my mistake not to. I trust you with my life, Draco. Please believe me. I've made a mistake- "

"Shh. None of that now." He stole a quick kiss before expertly putting a diaper on Verity as if he'd been doing it for a very long time. He picked up Verity carefully and left the bathroom with Hermione in tow. "We make a good team, you know. You wipe off the foul-smelling inhumane poop and I put on the diaper. We should make it a ritual."

She laughed. For the first time in a long time, it was real. "I'll think about it."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

"Hermione is going to hex my bollocks off," Draco muttered to himself. Hermione was in the bedroom breastfeeding Verity. It was early morning and he let Hermione stay in bed because there was pain in her stomach, and with the help of a nursing pillow, she managed to breastfeed without too much difficulty. He then suggested that he would make some breakfast and probably manage to fix breakfast for the two of them.

Not even ten minutes later, he ruined three eggs, burnt two sausages and broke that damn muggle juicer.

When he and Hermione watched Ginny worked in their kitchen she made it look effortless. What had he been thinking? The kitchen was completely in ruined. Hermione was going to freak.

He was desperate.

Now Hermione didn't have to know that he snuck into the Malfoy Manor and more or less kidnapped his parents' house elf. He also managed to avoid bumping into his parents who were in the sun room taking their own breakfast.

"Fifi," Draco told the female creature at his feet in ragged clothes. "I need you to make a big breakfast. Everything should be fresh and greaseless, you understand? My wife's breastfeeding so make everything healthy as possible. You can go back to the Manor and take everything you need. Mother and Father won't notice anyway."

"Yes, Master Draco."

"And be as quiet as possible. Make sure you can't be heard. My wife will kill me. And if she does, I will kill you."

Fifi's eyes widened. "Yes, Master Draco. Fifi is going to be very very very quiet," she whispered the last part. "So Master Draco won't kill Fifi."

He rolled his eyes with exasperation. "I won't really kill you, Fifi. I will give you a sock. Or a dress. Would you like that?"

Fifi shook her head frantically. "No, Master Draco. Fifi likes her job. Please don't send Fifi away."

"We understand each other than. Have breakfast ready in a tray in promptly ten minutes. After breakfast, can you make us lunch as well?"

"Yes, Master Draco. What would Master like for lunch?"

He thought about it for a minute. "I think my wife would like something French. You make anything you like as long as it's healthy. Okay, Fifi?"

"Yes, Master Draco."

"Good. Now get to cooking."

To his amusement, Fifi straightened and saluted him. "Yes, Master Draco."

"Shh!"

Her eyes widened comically again and then she seemed to have shrunk as she turned back and started to clean up Draco's mess with a quick snap of fingers at the same time setting up the stove so that she can start cooking.

His eyes kept darting to the doorway, expecting Hermione to walk in any time. So instead of fretting, he concentrated on watching Fifi work instead. Elf magic. So incredible, he thought absent-mindedly. They can do so much that even gifted wizards (like himself of course) and witches could not do without studying them. It's a good thing that he confined Hermione to bed or else she'd strangle him with her bare hands.

"Hey Malf- "

"I can explain!" Draco exclaimed as he turned to face the intruder with his hands held up in defeat. He frowned when he caught sight of a familiar redhead instead. "Weaslette! Thank Merlin!" He came forward and hugged her impulsively. He stepped away quickly when he realized what he'd done. "I thought you were Hermione. I assume your husband is with you."

"I'm here, Malfoy." Potter stepped inside the kitchen behind Ginny. "I thought I told you to contact me as soon as you found Hermione. It's been six days! Merlin!"

"Shhhh! Lower your voice. I don't want Hermione to come in here."

Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco. "Why not?"

Draco pointed to the working house elf with his thumb. "I forgot about our agreement, Potter. When I found her in the library, she went into labor."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh, Merlin!" she breathed. "Is she fine? Is it a girl? Is it a boy? Oh, Malfoy! How are you two? Please, you have to tell me. I've been so worried about her! Even you! And I can't believe I said that!"

Draco waited until the younger woman quieted. "It's a girl." He smiled proudly. "Her name is Verity. She's beautiful and her poop is the worst thing in the entire world."

Harry threw his head back and laughed.

"Hermione's in the bedroom, breastfeeding. I'm supposed to make breakfast for us but I ruined it so I kidnapped Fifi here from the Manor."

"Master Draco did not kidnap Fifi. Master Draco pleaded with Fifi to cook for his family! Fifi is very happy to cook for Master Draco's family!" The creature beamed at the three humans.

He shook his head at her. "I don't want Hermione to catch her in here. I care for my bollocks very much. She cooks when she can but she's having a hard time moving around because of the delivery. They cut her open, by the way, because Verity's feet were facing her opening, she said. I didn't actually understand the birth but whatever, in the end, she was fine. They were fine. It'll take her a few weeks to fully recover though. Two months at most."

Ginny studied him carefully. "And... did you two work things out?"

He smiled. "Yes. There was a misunderstanding. Everything is going great now..." He shifted his gaze to the other wizard. "Thanks for everything, Potter."

Harry waved it off. "You can thank me by introducing us to your daughter."

"And tea!" His wife quipped and then smiled sweetly at Draco. "Please."

Draco gave a sarcastic smile back. "I'm going to talk to Hermione so you two stay put. Fifi, get them some tea."

"Yes, Master Draco!" Fifi exclaimed.

"Shh!"

"Sorry, Master Draco!" Fifi apologized in a stage whisper.

Draco rolled his eyes as he left the kitchen and strolled into the bedroom. His family was right there where he left them less than half an hour ago. "Hey, baby." He kissed Hermione on the forehead. "Hey, baby girl." He kissed Verity on top of her head. He flopped himself down on the bed beside Hermione. "The Potters are here," he told her casually, as if it was an everyday occurrence since getting back together again.

Her brows shot up. "How?... oh, never mind."

"They've been worried. I promised him that I would contact him as soon as I got here but after that episode in the library, your surgery and taking care of Verity, it just slipped my mind." He shrugged. "I'm not surprised they're here. I'm surprised it took them five days to come here."

"They might hate me."

"No, baby. I assure you they don't. If they do, I'll kick them out." He kissed her on the shoulder, careful not to disturb her breastfeeding. "They're going to wait until you finish eating your breakfast before you speak with them, okay? No buts," he added when she opened her mouth to protest. "How's your stomach?"

"It still hurts," she admitted softly.

"You stay put right here."

"It's not like I have a choice." She scrunched her nose at him. "I can barely even move through the pain."

"Do you want me to feed you?" He grinned wolfishly.

"I think I can manage to lift a spoon by myself, Draco."

"Spoilsport." He stuck his tongue at her. "Do you want me to burp her?" he asked when Verity released her nipple.

She nodded, handing Verity over to him with a wince. "Please."

He carefully righted Verity against his chest, bouncing gently on the bed. "Take it easy, Hermione. I feel absolutely pathetic, not being able to do anything while you sit there in pain."

She smiled at him softly. Before their separation, Draco hadn't been this caring. She appreciated it a lot. She'd always been self-reliant and independent. She was raised that way. He'd always known that so he let her just take care of herself. It was only recently she realized that being taken care of by someone else felt nice... no, nicer than nice. She woke up that morning with her stomach hurting a lot and she knew that this was normal during the recovery period. When she told him, he ordered her to stay in bed and that he'll take care of her.

"I'll be fine. I'll eat the breakfast you ready and I'll take the painkillers."

He flushed. "Good. You- ah. Verity, your burp is so uncannily lovely." He chuckled. "Come on, we're going to meet your mother's friends- "

"They're your friends too."

He ignored that and stood up from the bed. "They're very excited to meet you and I'm excited to show you off. Although I'm sure they'll feel a bit inferior after seeing how beautiful you are- "

"Draco."

He ignored that as well. "Because you're the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world!" To his surprise, Verity made a mewling, little sound. He laughed. "I knew you'd see it my way, baby girl." He turned to look at Hermione before he exited the room. "Don't move. Be back with your breakfast."

"Okay," she said meekly.

He winked at her. "I love you."

He left before she could respond. He was whistling as he walked back to the kitchen. He bumped his hip against the swinging door and went inside.

The Potters whirled around and beamed immediately, jumping to their feet.

"Lovely, isn't she?" he said proudly.

"Very," Harry agreed good-naturedly. "She looks like Hermione!"

"She looks like Malfoy!" Ginny countered. "May I hold her?"

"Only if you're careful! Are your hands clean?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Malfoy. I'm a mother of two."

"That doesn't mean a thing to me, Potterette. This isn't your child. This is mine- "

"Cut it out, Malfoy," Harry interrupted. His own wife and Malfoy haven't always gotten along. They have a more dysfunctional relationship than himself and Malfoy. Sometimes they'd go over board and someone will get hexed. Usually it was Draco who gets hexed much to his amusement and to Hermione's dismay.

Draco glared at him but allowed the redhead to take Verity. "Careful!" He warned to which Ginny responded with a low growl at the back of her throat. "Old redheaded coot."

"Malfoy," Harry sighed, shaking his head. One would think that those two actually didn't really get along but their respective spouses knew better. "Let's talk. Hermione had a C-section, you said?"

"Huh?"

"You said they cut her open to get the baby."

"Oh. Yeah. C-section. That's what they keep calling it. I remember now. I wanted to take her to St. Mungo's. She couldn't apparate so we rode a cab and had her admitted to this town's local hospital instead. Apparently, she'd been having contractions all morning when I came here. She thought it was false labor."

"Then what happened?"

"She peed." He grinned. "She keeps saying it's her water or something or the other." His grin faded. "She was real scared, Potter. It's the first time I have ever seen her scared." He glanced up at Ginny who was cooing down at Verity. "Hey, Red Face."

Ginny shot him a lethal glare.

"You should talk to Hermione," he said softly. "She cries in the bathroom at night. I don't know why. I'm convinced that it's not about our separation. We talked about what we did when we weren't together and it's fine... but sometimes I wake up to her crying in the bathroom for an hour at most and sometimes I'll find her sitting in front of the fire, just staring at practically nothing. I think she misses the lot of you."

She sighed, her glare disappearing. "It's called the baby blues, Long Face. It happens to mothers after birth."

Draco stilled for a moment before staring balefully at Ginny. "Did you just call me Long Face?"

She rolled her eyes because he seemed to be really offended. Didn't he know? "She'll be fine, Malfoy, after a couple of weeks. Just give her the much-needed TLC and she'll be fine."

"Thanks," he muttered. "I still think you should go in there and bring her breakfast so you two can talk. I'm pretty sure you missed her too."

She nodded. "Very much actually." She smiled at him before turning to her husband. "Hold her?" He jumped to his feet and took her in his arms.

"Lovely," Harry said, looking down at Verity briefly before casting an absolutely wicked look at his wife. "I think I want a girl next."

Ginny smiled seductively. "You betcha, Harry."

"Eww," Draco muttered to himself, his eyes rolling to the ceiling. And then with a louder voice, "I don't really want to hear about your sex life, Potheads. Bloody disgusting." He shook his head. "Fifi, is Hermione's breakfast ready?"

"Yes, Master Draco!"

When Ginny had gone with a loaded tray, Draco sat across from Harry who was still carrying Verity. He ordered Fifi to make more food for their company. He watched his former enemy steadily as he murmured nonsensical words to Verity. Despite his warnings to Ginny Potter, which he should point out that he was just teasing but didn't, he trusted them fully with his firstborn... hell, he trusted the two of them with his own life.

"So did you find out what happened?" Harry inquired casually while he rocked Verity in his arms.

"Yeah. My mother and a gold-digger happened." He snorted. "I don't even want to talk about it. What matters is that Hermione and I are fine, readjusting to our lives together and with Verity... and I'm learning things about her I didn't know before..."

"Like what?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I can't explain it. It feels a lot like we're starting all over again."

"Maybe..." Harry said thoughtfully. "Maybe your brief separation actually is good for your relationship. Didn't you two have a bit of a falling out before she left?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I remember you complaining to me one evening about how you two seemed to be out of it... like everything you two did seemed like a ritual, like it felt like you two were just coexisting with the other and that you two didn't have... the spark anymore. Don't you remember?"

Draco hesitated. "I remember."

"Some fallouts are a blessing in disguise." The famous wizard shrugged his shoulders. "Think about it for a minute. You two are working on your relationship again perhaps a bit more carefully now. The relationship is being reborn. You're getting to know her again. You feel exactly the way you felt when you two first had gotten together."

"I thought you're an Auror, Potter, because you sound a lot like a damn shrink." Draco had to admit though that the other wizard might be onto something. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Whatever, Potter," he said after a few moments.

Harry chuckled. "You're back to your old self, Malfoy."

"Don't know what you're talking about." Draco pushed away from the table. "Fifi, are you done?"

"Fifi is almost done, Master Draco!"

"Actually... Fifi is most certainly done serving you, Draco Malfoy."

Draco's eyes widened at the new voice that came from the doorway. He turned and faced Hermione's wrath. "Hey, baby. What are you doing up and about? Your stomach..."

"I took a pain pill," she answered. "Ginny told me you're bossing around a poor little house elf in here."

His eyes narrowed. The little redheaded bitch was nowhere in sight. "I wasn't, baby, I swear," he insisted. "Ask Fifi. I was very nice to her."

Hermione's expression softened significantly. "Is he telling the truth, Fifi?"

"Yes Mistress!"

"Hermione. Call me Hermione not Mistress. And don't call him Master, okay Fifi? Just Draco. He's not your master. Nobody is your master or mistress. We're your friends."

"Friends," Fifi breathed out.

Draco groaned, but Hermione ignored it, as well Harry whose shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. "Yes, Fifi. We're your friends."

A big fat tear rolled down the creature's cheek. "Fifi never had a friend Mistre- Hermione! Fifi is very happy she has friends! Thank yous! Thank yous!"

"Okay, okay," Draco intervened, getting exasperated. "Just finish cooking for us, your friends. So you can get back to the Manor."

The creature smiled blindingly. "Fifi is happy Mas- Draco took her to his home! Fifi is very, very happy! Thank yous!" For a moment everyone in the room thought she was going to launch herself in Draco's arms but after a second or two, she turned back to the stove, finishing up whatever she was cooking.

Draco turned to his wife with an impish grin, walking until he stood in front of her, their bodies touching suggestively. "Did you hear that, baby? I made the little creature happy. "

Harry cleared his throat. "Uh- "

"Harry!" Hermione whipped away from Draco, her face lighting up in a brilliant smile. Slowly she walked over to sit beside him, telling him about Verity and ignoring Draco.

Draco grumbled at the two of them.

He let his thoughts drifted to that no-good sneaky redhead. No doubt that he'll come up with something to get back at her for tattling.

Perhaps purple hair? Yes. He knew that she disliked the color purple.

He still had a few products from her older brothers' store as well.

Ha! Perhaps he might make a quick visit to their place and transform their bedroom, reminiscent of the Slytherin Dungeons at Hogwarts?

Yes. It will be absolutely brilliant!

Why not make Potter look like Filch? That should be wickedly funny.

Draco let out a small, evil laugh as he sat himself down across from his wife and her best mate drawing peculiar looks from the both of them which he ignored as he continued to plot on what could be Ginevra Potter's downfall.

* * *

_**Author's note: **Hello everyone! I'm glad that you like the somewhat adult version of Whatever It Takes. This used to be a little fluffy and immature. I just couldn't leave it like that so I changed it. Anyway... THANK YOU EVERYONE! :)_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

Draco couldn't sleep. He recalled his conversation with Potter earlier that day. The other wizard had been right. There had been a time when his and Hermione's relationship started to cool down. They started to feel less passionate with each other which was why they decided to try for a baby.

"Hey," Draco had greeted Hermione one evening after coming home from work. She was sitting up in bed, a book shoved in her face. She didn't even look away from her book when he started to strip off his dress suit he usually wore to work.

"Hey. How was your day?"

"Fine. Yours?"

"Fine, thank you."

Silence.

"Have you eaten supper?"

"I had a sandwich before I went home, Draco. What about you?"

"Yes."

Silence.

It had been that way for months. They rarely spent time together, both caught up with their jobs at their respective departments in the Ministry. They had sex once a week - twice at most. Draco was sure that his love for her never wavered but the fire was gone. He didn't know what to do so he let things lie. He was convinced that everything would go back to the way it was before.

When some months later, Hermione came up with a proposal: "I think it's time we try for a baby."

He quickly agreed.

The sex wasn't like before when they had been teenagers though. It was... a bit bland. It was good, they both came every time but it wasn't exactly mind-blowing. He tried taking her in a couple of different positions. It helped sometimes but then they got bored quickly. He thought of using toys but he wasn't sure that Hermione would be open to that. He might scare her off with his new ideas so he decided not to suggest it.

He was desperate after a couple of months. He found himself at Leaky Cauldron with none other than Harry Potter whose marriage always seemed be perfect.

"I don't know, Potter..." he had slurred at his third shot of firewhiskey. He had always been a lame drunk. "I've been married for almost two years and I don't feel the spark anymore. We only have... chore sex."

Harry, who was also on his third shot of firewhiskey but still perfectly sober, laughed hysterically. "Chore sex?"

"Yes! Chore sex! Boring sex! I tried everything and nothing! It's always boring! Not to mention we don't even talk anymore! The worst part is we don't also fight! We just... wait, did I mention? We're trying for a baby! Your Albus is very cute. I want my own. I like the name Scorpius."

"Scorpius." Harry laughed again, shaking his head. "I don't really want to talk about your sex life with my best friend, Malfoy. You figure that shit out by yourself!" He had never been one to curse but he spends most of his time with Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy. "You should go to a muggle bookstore and find a book called the 'kama sutra' though. It might help."

It turned out that it didn't help much. Hermione only managed a few new positions. He wasn't exactly flexible himself. So every time they tried something new and back-breaking, they'd end up with aching muscles the next day which they made up for massaging each other's aching muscles. Meh.

He tried a different approach. He started to surprise her by coming to her office right when their shifts ended and they would go out to dinner. It felt better. They started to talk again and they'd indulge in a little PDA to which Hermione always blushed and they'd visit their friends and their families.

Then those Lacey episodes happened and before he knew it, his wife had left.

Now as he lay in bed on his side, watching her sleep on her back, her hand over her stomach where the doctors had made the incision, he realized that despite their difficulties his love for never changed. Dry spells. It happens, he figured, but he won't let things fall apart again. They didn't know it but they had taken their relationship for granted, thinking that marriage secured it.

Now that they both had a taste of life without the other, they would never take each other for granted again. He wouldn't let it happen. Never. They could have another dry spell and they could fight until there was no more fight left in them and they could not have sex at all but he will never let her go. Never.

Suddenly, Hermione sat up, startling him out of his thoughts. "Draco," she gasped, looking around wildly with wide eyes. "Draco, where are you?"

"I'm here," he said softly, reaching out a hand to her. "I'm here." She sighed seemingly in relief and moved so she could lay her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I dreamed that you left," she whispered.

"It's just a dream," he crooned, kissing the top of her head. "It's not real. It's never going to be real."

"I'm sorry."

He ignored that because he knew that she will starting droning on and on about her leaving him. He didn't want to talk about that anymore. It was insignificant now. "Go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up. I'll take care of Verity the rest of the night. Would you like some sleeping draught?"

"No. I'm fine. Just hold me."

He remembered she'd never been one to cuddle during sleep. Nor was he, for that matter. He realized that they were still in a fragile state so he did as she asked shifting until they were both comfortable. He heard her breathing changed as she fell back asleep. A sense of deep contentment fell over him. He felt peaceful. He felt happy. He was aware that he was smiling when he, too, fell asleep.

Which lasted for about four hours before Verity woke the both of them with her loud wailing.

Hermione insisted on tending to Verity, telling him to go back to sleep.

He did, eventually, listening as their baby's wailing turned to sobs and to whimpers then the creaking of a wooden rocking chair at the corner of the room as Hermione put Verity back to sleep by singing a lovely lullaby.

When he woke sometime after dawn, just before sunrise, he checked up on Verity and saw that she was awake in her crib but she wasn't crying and she seemed to be fine. Hermione was sleeping (and actually snoring) on her side of the bed. He laughed a little and took the babe to bed for a little cuddling time. Time flew by so fast. He can't believe that he'd been in Aqua Falls for a full week already. Verity was a week old. Merlin. Before they knew it, she'd be a year old.

Verity let out a few mewling sounds against his chest and he placed her on the bed, between him and her mother.

"You look like you've grown a bit bigger over the week," he told Verity. "Slow it down, baby girl. I like you just the way you are."

Hermione moaned, shifted to her side, facing the two of them as her eyes opened gingerly. "Good morning you two," she murmured, smiling sleepily at them.

Yes, life was just perfect at that moment, Draco thought. "Good morning, baby. Did you get enough sleep?"

She yawned widely. "Think so."

"I feel really lazy today. Mmm. I think we should lie in and have Fifi make meals for us again." He smiled his best smile at her.

Her eyelids still drooping, she nodded. "Good idea. Just make sure to thank her and pay her around five galleons afterwards."

Draco sputtered, sitting up. "Five galleons! That's preposterous! What is she going to do with five galleons? Fifi is but a mere house elf!"

But she wasn't listening because she started placing kisses over Verity's head, probably smothering her, but the baby didn't seem to mind. So he shut up. What the hell was five galleons compared to this anyway? He grinned as he went back into position on his side, leaning over his pretty little ladies in bed.

* * *

Draco sighed as he entered the tiny kitchen of the cottage and caught sight of a familiar redhead and his significant other sitting across from Hermione. He had just put down Verity in her crib in the room and in his hand was a muggle device called the baby monitor. He wasn't exactly surprised that the other couple was here after the visit from the Potters yesterday.

"How's it going, Weasel?" He drawled, sitting on the chair beside Hermione. He placed the baby monitor on the table.

"Pretty good, Ferret," Ron Weasley greeted good-naturedly. "Congratulations on the baby by the way."

"Thanks." He grabbed Hermione's hand from the table, lacing their fingers together. She let him. She never let him do that before in front of the other man because of their history.

Ron and Hermione had tried to make a relationship work the summer before she went back to Hogwarts and finished her education. They liked each other for so long that they didn't realize how incompatible they were. Some kissing and a lot of fighting later, she ended their relationship much to his dismay. He wasn't clever enough to keep up with Hermione's idiosyncrasies nor was he patient enough for her unconventional personality as well. He did love her and she him. He thought that was enough to maintain a relationship but she knew otherwise. Ron, however, will always be Hermione's first love. Draco was mature enough to accept that.

When Hermione had gotten together with Draco, Ron had given them a difficult time. Sometimes Draco caught the longing in Ron's eyes when he looked at Hermione... but that was in the earlier years. Now Ron's happily married to one of Ginny's friends (two years behind them from Hufflepuff) and they were expecting.

He shifted his eyes to the petite woman sitting beside Ron and smiled. "Hello Cerise. Pregnancy suits you. You look pretty." He was just polite like that.

Cerise Weasley (formerly Anselm) beamed at him. "Thanks, Draco. I'm sorry we just missed Verity. When we came Hermione told us you were getting her to sleep."

He nodded. "Fine."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "They brought us a gift. Well, actually it's for Verity. It's in the living room."

"Thanks." Draco wasn't really a conversationalist. "We appreciate it."

Silence.

"So. Um," Hermione said. "How far along are you, Cerise?"

Cerise answered her then she and Hermione settled into an easy conversation on being a mother. The younger woman kept asking questions about pregnancy that Draco didn't really understand and he was pretty sure that the other man didn't as well. They listened as the two women conversed but not really comprehending anything. It was just one of those women things.

Draco avoided looking Ron Weasley's direction but his thoughts were mostly centered on him and Hermione. He'd always been jealous of him - not that he'd ever admit that to anyone other than himself. Ron and Hermione had a connection. Draco couldn't explain it but sometimes he would catch Ron and Hermione sharing a look and it was as if they communicated without words. Sometimes Potter does it with the two of them. Even Ginny. It always made him feel like an outsider in their little group. Well, probably because he was. Maybe that's why he tried pursuing a friendship with Lacey (which proved to be disastrous). He never had friends like that. He wanted friends like that.

But that was impossible, he thought a bit sadly. Several years after Voldemort's demise, Draco was still branded as a Death Eater. He wasn't a nice person, he admitted it as much, but he wasn't exactly a bad person either. He'd like to think of himself as... misunderstood. He'd made a lot of mistakes - but hey, shouldn't the others cut him some slack? He was raised to think that way and really, he was much improved now. Being married to someone who was regarded as a 'war heroine' and the 'brightest witch of her age' namely Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy as well as openly associating a friendship with the Potters, the Weasleys (just barely) and a few other do-gooders could have changed their minds about him.

He turned his head to look at his wife. The others probably didn't matter as long she stood by him.

Filled with renewed inspiration, he focused on the conversation and found himself animatedly telling Cerise about Verity's little quirks he'd learned in her week-long life.

"I sleep around for four hours a day," he told Cerise. "Five or six if I'm lucky. And the doctors warned us that this will go on for more than a month."

"I'm not much of a help because of my surgery," Hermione added, a little rueful. She squeezed Draco's hand. "In five to six weeks, you can sleep all you want. I'd be fully recovered by then."

"I don't mind it at all," he admitted.

She shook her head at him and addressed Ron and Cerise. "But I mind. He's grumpy when he doesn't get enough sleep." She grinned.

"How was she when she was pregnant? Horrid, I reckon?" Ron teased.

Draco frowned then quickly recovered. No one knew that Hermione left him except for the Potters and his parents. He opened his mouth to lie but his wife beat him to it.

"No," she said with a laugh. "I believe pregnancy agreed well with me. Some morning sickness but it was only for a couple of months. Some mood swings, but what's new? Just excessive urinating and uncontrollable passing of gas."

"Gah!"

"Oh, shut up, Ron," Cerise piped in, scrunching her nose at him. "You sometimes pass gas when we're making lo- "

"Gah!" This came from Draco this time. Although Cerise spoke delicately, he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that the Weasel actually had a sex life. Fucking disgusting. Well. No one had said Draco Malfoy wasn't a hypocrite. "I don't want to hear it. Please."

"And I would appreciate it if you limit those details to yourselves." Hermione sniffed indignantly. Despite their very brief relationship back when they were teenagers, she had never been really curious about those... things... with him and she had never been tempted to even peek under clothes.

To be honest, at first, it was the same thing with Draco... but her cunning former Slytherin knew how to get her interested. He convinced her to explore a different genre of literature because really all she read were informative books, technical books, classic fiction, general fiction and non-fiction. He gifted her with a romance paperback from a muggle bookstore (he admitted that he had done his research). It was... good and sweet and lovely, she concluded after reading. He kept giving her romance paperbacks with love scenes. The first books were mild then progressed into a bit detailed, but still nothing as grave as the last ones that were just full-blown erotica.

That was when she started to become curious. Then she started to have tingles in her stomach every time they kissed. Then there was some tongue. Then a lot of tongue. Then his hands would roam and tease. Then hers as well. Then before she knew it, she had Draco naked on top of her. Yes. It had been she who initiated but it was Draco who anticipated. The first few times were a bit awkward... but both of them were perfectionists and practice makes perfect.

She shifted in her seat. During her pregnancy, she had a lot of... urges... and it had been a hard time ignoring it but she managed it. Since her body had become used to such activities since starting it with Draco, she craved it all the time. She wanted Draco. She wanted him so much. She knew her stomach hasn't fully healed yet so she couldn't do anything with him but damn it was she tempted to!

Draco was on the slim side. Some shapely muscles here and there but he wasn't anything like the ones she saw on magazines and on the covers of the romance books Draco gave her and the ones she had bought herself. He wasn't the most handsome bloke she'd seen in her lifetime... but there was just something about him that made her all hot and bothered. Maybe it was the smile or the look in his eyes or the way he whispered her name or the way his hips moved against hers as he-

"Hermione?" Draco's voice broke into her reverie.

Her heart thumped against her chest. "Yes?" she breathed then she cleared her throat because her voice had been a little husky.

Her husband's eyes flared briefly before narrowing at her flushed face. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "What are you thinking about?"

She shook her head, ignoring the shiver that went down her spine. Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she was afraid that he might actually hear it a few inches away from her. Good Godric. All those lonely nights while her body craved his during her pregnancy was catching up to her. He was finally here and she was free to touch him again in any way, in every way.

He looked at her for a few more moments before turning back to the conversation with Ron and Cerise.

Since he and Hermione cleared the air between them a few days ago, they both had been holding back just like when they were teenagers. Sweet, innocent kisses here and there and brief embraces and holding hands. It was a mutual decision. Just because they finally agreed to make up again that didn't mean they would pick up were they left off.

They were going to take things slow.

Just like before.

But that didn't mean she wanted him any less.

"By the way," Ron suddenly said to Hermione. He made a face as he buried a hand in his robes and produced a jar containing a gooey substance. "Ginny told me to give you this. It's for your stomach." He placed the jar on the table and pushed it towards her. "I don't even want to know. She said to take two measures once a day."

"Oh, thank you!"

Hermione was not able to hide her delighted grin. It was the potion from St. Mungo's to hasten the healing of her stomach.

After a week or two she would be fully healed.

Which meant...

She sighed and settled on tucking her head against his shoulder.

Draco Malfoy had better be ready for her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

No one knew why she stayed with him. Everyone thought she deserved better. Well, no one had ever taken the time to actually understand him. Because that was what he was: a misunderstood boy who didn't know any better because he was raised that way and merely hides his moral cowardice behind a cruel persona.

When Draco and Hermione had gotten together when they were younger, he could still be arrogant and insulting. Most of the time they fought because of his careless tongue. He still looked down his nose at other people. It infuriated her all the time but she had to admit that it kept her on her toes with him.

And to be really honest, she stayed with him because there was a side of him that was reserved for only her and for some reason, it pleased her immensely. With her, he was attentive, loving at the same time intense and sometimes funny. With his parents, he was a total brat. With her parents, he was surprisingly doting. With his coworkers, he was somewhat intolerable. With his (very few) friends, he was a bit arrogant. With her friends, he was... well, exactly the same since Hogwarts days but it lacked malice (and vice versa).

There was also something about Draco that stood out from the others who had been romantically interested in her including her first love, Ron Weasley. Draco found her beautiful and sexy when she thought otherwise. She didn't tell anyone, not even him, that she noticed him staring up at her with his mouth hanging open like an idiot as she entered The Great Hall back in fourth year on the night of the Yule Ball. It was the first time she had ever felt confident as a girl. Powerful even. Not even Pansy Parkinson's snide remarks as she stood beside Hermione's future husband had fazed her that night... (how that night ended was totally blocked from her mind).

Draco knew how to hurt people (he just didn't do it anymore, well, not as much as during the Hogwarts days anyway) but he also knew how to lay her insecurities to rest. She knew very well that she wasn't vibrantly pretty like her best girl friend, Ginny (Weasley) Potter, nor was she as effortlessly lovely like her other best girl friend, Luna (Lovegood) Scamander... but every time Draco looked at her or touched her or kissed her, she was convinced that perhaps she was almost as pretty as them.

In this particular moment however, she not only felt pretty but also sexy and even if a little shy.

Draco had walked in on her while in the bedroom (the first time he'd seen her naked in what seemed like forever) the very second she dropped the towel on her feet, right before she pulled on her modest underwear.

She smiled shyly as her husband's eyes travelled from head to toe ever so slowly.

She was on the slender side, hardly any curves but the weight she gained from pregnancy flattered her figure. Her breasts had gotten a size larger, her formerly flat and tight stomach was now femininely soft, her ass was a little fuller and curvier, her arms and legs also had filled up. The surgical scar was still there, big, red and ugly but he didn't seem to notice as he all but drooled over her nudity.

"You're beautiful," he breathed. "So beautiful, baby."

She believed him. "Thank you," she whispered. "It means a lot." It really did. She had been insecure all her life. She hid it behind the bossy attitude and her cleverness. Just like how Draco hid his moral cowardice behind his bigotry and bullying.

He hesitated for a brief moment before walking towards her. "I want like hell to make love to you right now," he said huskily when he was standing right in front of her. "Hermione." He groaned, pulling her into his arms.

There was something erotic about the way her naked body, still slightly damp from her shower, slithering against his clothes. She limped against him, shivering as his cold hands stroked her back because her skin was still warm from the hot shower she'd just finished. His touch was different from what he remembered. It was loving but also urgent. The minute his mouth touched hers, there was desperation. Her mouth opened to him instantly and he groaned before his tongue swept in. Her knees buckled.

"Am I dreaming?" he whispered when his mouth left hers and travelled down the column of her throat. "If so, don't ever wake me up."

She giggled. Since when did she start giggling?!

"You're so... so ripe, baby."

"Ripe?" she repeated incredulously. "Did you just compare me to a fruit?"

"Mmm." He nipped the skin where her head met her shoulders gently. "A fruit. A peach maybe. I love peaches. Sweet. Saccharine. I want to devour you."

She closed her eyes, her throat arching so she could give his mouth better access. "There goes that agreement of taking things slow."

He quickly pulled away from her neck, placing his hands on her bare hips. "Oh. Sorry, baby. I couldn't help myself... seeing you this way. Merlin. I love your body." He was wearing sweat pants and the evidence how much he really loved her new body was pushing insistently against the cotton, seemingly desperate for attention. He laughed huskily. "You know... I haven't had a decent wank in months..."

"Draco!"

"What?" He tried to sound innocent. "I was too depressed to do anything to myself. If I did, it would be when I was dreaming about us going at it like a couple of winged wild horses. I'd wake up to soaked and sticky sheets."

She bit the inside of her cheek hard to prevent from laughing. "You're disgusting and incorrigible."

"Indeed."

She leaned over and kissed him softly before pushing him away. "Now let me get dressed."

He smiled sadly as she turned her back on him to get dressed. "I'm counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until I get to be inside you again."

She blushed. All over. She couldn't wait either.

When she finished dressing, she sat down next to Draco on the edge of the bed. A dull ache started in her stomach but she was so used it, it didn't bother her anymore at all. Verity was in her crib sleeping at the foot of the bed as usual, since she only wakes up when she's hungry or when she needed a diaper change.

"We should really tell them about Verity," Draco said thoughtfully. "Although I don't doubt they'll be really disappointed when they find out that she's about two weeks old. Do you think they'll mind coming here? I don't think she's good to travel yet."

"No, she isn't," Hermione agreed. "She shouldn't travel for a couple months more. To be honest, I think your parents will actually mind coming here. I mean this cottage isn't much at all- "

"I wasn't even thinking about them," Draco interrupted. "I was referring to your parents."

"Oh."

"I don't want to see my mother. I don't know what would happen if I do."

"I understand." She didn't want to see Narcissa either. If she was lucky, she wouldn't see her mother-in-law for the rest of her life... well, she can dream, can't she? "Take all the time you need, Draco. But remember she's still your mother. She loves you and she did what she thought what was best for you." She can't believe she just said that. She hated being too forgiving and honorable sometimes.

He let out a short bark of laugh that didn't hold any humor. "She's mad if she thought the best thing for me is to drive my wife - my pregnant wife - away."

Hermione silently agreed.

"You know," Draco continued to speak, "I want everyone to meet Verity but I don't want any more intruders in this little cottage."

"Intruders."

"Yes, intruders. I want you and Verity all to myself. You know that I've always been selfish. I don't think my selfishness could ever be removed from my personality. Your friends I didn't mind because they were the ones who found you. It can't be helped. If I had my way though..."

"You'd close off the floo connection permanently," she finished for him.

"Wow, baby. You never told me that you can do Legilimency."

Yup, that was her husband. Her sweet, attentive, loving and intense but always infuriatingly sarcastic husband. "I'm also an Animagus."

"Really."

"And that I'm a parcel tongue."

"Hiss hiss hiss."

She burst out laughing at that. "That was really horrible, Draco."

He laughed too and flopped himself on the bed, placing his hands behind his head. "I missed laughing like this with you, Hermione." When their laughter died down, he pulled her gently until she was party on top of him. "It's different this time, isn't it?"

She knew what he was referring to. "It feels different," she whispered her agreement, placing her head on the crook of his shoulder. "I don't know how to explain it. When I think about how I felt for you before, it feels a bit mundane compared to what I feel for you now. This is... real... not that I think it wasn't before. It is. But- I- I- it's more intense, more real."

"I know exactly what you mean." His hand rubbed circles over her back. "Sometimes I'm so caught up with such intense emotions that the words 'I love you' doesn't even begin to cover it. It's why I don't say it much now. It's not because I love you less. It's the words are less."

She sighed. "Since when did you start being romantic?"

"I have always been romantic."

"Is that so? Then the romanticism in you has improved vastly."

"You're pleased with what I said then?"

"Immensely."

"Then you should know that those aren't just words. I really do mean them."

"I know."

"Good." Slowly but surely, he rolled them over in bed until he was halfway on top of her, quite away from her stomach. "Usually with couples when revealing such feelings, they end up naked and having either rough, back-breaking sex or slow, passionate love making. Since we can't risk your reopening your wound, I can settle for some intense snogging and some groping."

She giggled again - much to her horror - but it was quickly smothered as Draco slanted his mouth over hers.

They kissed deeply for a long time. Her hands were clutching his hair and his hands were... well, just about everywhere. His lips were soft but hard as they moved with hers. His tongue was wet and velvety, coercing it into her mouth so that she can suck on it. His chest rumbled as he groaned and when she released his tongue, he bit her bottom lip... then his hand dipped between her legs and she was a goner.

The only reason she was able to get around better lately was because of the potions she had asked Ginny to get from St. Mungo's. It boosted the speed of her surgical scar from the incision. This was one of the best things about the Wizarding World - healing potions that were guaranteed to work five times faster than any muggle-developed medicine. She was barely evening bleeding anymore and she was pretty sure that it wouldn't take long before her scar was completely healed - another week or so, she guessed.

She gasped, releasing his mouth. "Drac-o-o- "

He groaned and pushed against the bed, away from her. He placed his hands firmly on the bed. They were shaking. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she breathed and in slow deliberate movements, she crawled on top of him very carefully placing her legs on either side of him. "Don't be sorry about that. Ever."

"I- I don't think you sh-should- " he gasped, because she placed her center over his arousal. "Hermione."

Her eyes were closed, head thrown back, completely shameless as she very slightly rubbed against him. "I want you so much. Please can we- ?"

"No," he said firmly even as he placed his hands on either side of her hips. "I'm going to hurt you if we continue this. We have to stop now." As soon as he stopped speaking, his eyes rolled at the back of his head as she continued to grind down on him.

She laughed huskily. She felt wanton. She had never been this aggressive sexually with him before. It was his own fault. He was the one who got her all fired up, kissing her erotically, touching her in all the right places.

It seemed that her laugh had encouraged Draco. His hips lifted slightly off the bed so that they could rub each other harder. "Baby, don't move. I don't want to hurt you. Let me- "

She moaned as he tilted his hips and let his pelvis rub her most sensitive spot.

"Merlin. Yes..."

"Just like that, Draco. Please. Please. Please..."

And then... a loud noise.

They froze, their eyes wide. It took a moment before they realize what the loud noise was.

"No," Draco choked out. He was so close. So, so close. "No! No!" He knew he sounded like a spoiled brat who didn't get his way but he couldn't help it.

Hermione lifted herself away from him as she started to laugh. "Didn't I tell you that sex is almost impossible with a baby around?"

"How can you laugh at a time like this?" He jumped off the bed and started for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Are you grumbling?" He had asked her the same question the day Verity was born.

"No."

"It sounded like you are."

The door slammed behind him.

She threw her head back and laughed before tending to their crying daughter.

As she calmed Verity down, the door bell rang.

Frowning, she left the bedroom with Verity and to the front door. She only knew a few people in town. The two other librarians, a few regular visitors and... Owen Brone. She took a peek from the window and saw that Owen Brone was indeed standing there in all his glory. Tall, muscular and handsome Owen.

And was that a bouquet of flowers in his hand? Goodness! Quickly, she opened the door. "Owen! What are you doing here?"

Owen smiled at her, showing his perfectly straight, white teeth... then his eyes widened when he caught sight of the bundle in her arms. "When did you go into labor?" he asked in surprise. He peered at the face. "Hello, little one."

"She was born almost two weeks ago," she admitted. "Come in. I'd fix you a cup of tea but as you can see." She gestured to the baby in her arms.

"It's no problem. May I come in?"

"Oh. Sorry, where are my manners? Yes, please do come in."

When he closed the door behind him, she guided him to the living room. Since he'd been a regular visitor since she moved to Aqua Falls, he was at home in the cottage. He sat down on the couch in a very imposing position. She sat down opposite him on a lounge chair.

"By the way, this is for you." Owen held up the bouquet of roses. "I'll just put this here. You can put it in a vase later." He placed the bouquet on the coffee table between them.

"Thanks, Owen." A pause. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you. I don't believe that man who was abusing you was your husband."

"He wasn't abusing me. We were... ah... it's complicated. Didn't you ever notice my rings?" She held up her left hand and wiggled it. How couldn't he have noticed it? Her engagement ring (Draco bought it for her after their impromptu wedding since they were never really engaged) was an oval shape three-stone embedded on a gold intricate band, the diamonds gleaming brightly every time the smallest hint of light touched over it and her wedding double band ring that matched her husband's was sitting above the engagement ring. It was quite hard to miss - impossible even.

Owen flushed. "I thought you were a widow. You never mentioned him before."

"Like I said, it's complicated." She shrugged.

"Well. This is... awkward."

She frowned. "Why?"

"I was going to ask you out on a date."

She felt her jaw drop. "A what?"

"A date."

"No fucking way!"

They both whipped around to see Draco glowering at the two of them, fresh from the shower. "I thought I told you that if you ever did anything with my wife, I'd fucking kill you."

Owen paled. "I- I- I didn't- I thought you were just bluffing the day at the library."

"Are you a fucking idiot? She's wearing my rings, she was pregnant, I told you I'm her husband and you assume that I was bluffing? You're worse than the Weasel! Get out of my fucking house!"

"Technically, Draco, this isn't our house. It's for sale but I'm just renting it out- "

Draco shot her a look. "You shut up."

"And don't drag my best friend into this."

"Look here, mate- "

"I am not your mate!"

"S-sorry. You shouldn't talk that way to her. Verbal abuse is considered as domestic violence- "

"Verbal abuse! Are you fucking kidding me? Stop drawing horrid conclusions on my marriage. Hermione and I have a volatile relationship since day one and if anyone is doing any abuse here it's her!"

"Draco!" Hermione scolded. "I do not abuse you!"

"Really?" he said sarcastically, "Then what do you call rubbing yourself down on poor, old me and then just- "

"Oh my God! Shut up, Draco! Verity doesn't need to hear this!"

"My name is not Verity."

"I was referring to my baby, Owen."

"Oh."

She sighed deeply. "Draco, you only say the F-word when you get jealous or when you're really, really angry. I'm assuming that because you've used the F-word a few times it means that you're both. Now I want you two gentlemen to sit down. My daughter and I who is on the verge of crying because of your annoying voices- "

"Hey- " Draco protested.

She ignored it and continued to speak, "and let me talk instead."

There was a stillness in the room before Draco sat down on the couch, beside Owen, grumbling all the way.

She smiled and stood up from the chair. "Draco, this is Owen Brone. He is a nice man who works in the café across from the library. He is the first person I met here and I consider him as a good friend. Owen, this is my husband, Draco. He is a jealous freak. He has no reason to be jealous about or so I thought until you came here to tell me you want to ask me out on a date. Frankly, I'm quite surprised. In all the months I've known you, you never showed such interest in me other than platonic interest. I thought you were just being nice to the pregnant lady who just moved into town. And FYI, Owen, he wasn't abusing me that day in the library. He was angry at me and he has every reason to. He was also jealous of you because you did that twirling hug thing. Now that we all understand each other, will you prepare some tea for all of us Draco? Biscuits would be nice as well. And you, Owen, can you have a fire going? It's almost evening. I can't have Verity getting cold."

When the two men just stared up at her both wearing incredulous expressions, she scowled fiercely.

"Now!"

They suddenly jumped up from the couch to do as she bid.

She leaned down and kissed Verity on the nose, giggling as she did so. She could have sworn that Verity smiled at her in return.

* * *

_**Author's note: **I couldn't help not give Owen a role in this story, after all, he played a part during the confrontation. And yes, Owen is deliberately somewhat short of being an idiot. You know, the stereotypical nice handsome hot guy, but not so gifted in the academics department. _

_I am very aware after 2 weeks of C-section, mothers are around only 60% to 80% recovered and so before anyone protests I would like to point out a paragraph in the middle. "The only reason she was able to get around better lately was because of the potions she had asked Ginny to get from St. Mungo's. It boosted the speed of her surgical scar from the incision. This was one of the best things about the Wizarding World - healing potions that were guaranteed to work five times faster than any muggle-developed medicine." Let's all pretend for the sake of the story ;)_

_Also thanks to Honoria Granger for pointing out a mistake in the fourth chapter!_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

Time flew by so fast. Three weeks had actually passed since he came to Aqua Falls. It was Saturday afternoon and Draco needed to report back to the Ministry of Magic by Monday, something which he dreaded. He didn't really want to go back to work. He didn't want to see Weasley or Carleton or his other colleagues. He needed more time with his family. He needed the solitude this town and this cottage provided with his wife and child, away from the rest of the world.

Since the last week Owen Brone barged in their house with the every intention of asking Hermione out on a date (the nerve of the daft man!), he had come to call twice bringing with him goodies from the café where he worked across the library. Draco grudgingly admitted that he was not such a bad bloke... even if he was a little stupid.

Like she'd said a week ago, Owen was a good friend because he had assisted her in every way he can and in some ways, he took care of her while Draco wasn't there. The husband didn't blame the other bloke though. In fact, Draco was glad that someone took care of her while he wasn't able to. When it was clear to Owen that Hermione and Draco had reconciled, he admitted defeat and extended his friendship to Draco... and to everyone's surprise (yes, including himself), he accepted the muggle's hand. Since that night, Owen came by to the cottage twice and brought goodies and coffee from the café where he worked.

Hermione and Draco's evenings were spent snogging like two teenagers sneaking past their curfew in front of the fire in the living room while Verity slept in her crib in the bedroom. The snogging was usually interrupted by her wailing and if it wasn't, they had to stop before things got out of hand. Dr. Adrienne hadn't given her the go signal for... rigorous exercises yet much to the couple's dismay but she had stated "I have never anyone recover from surgery so rapidly. Are you some kind of superhuman or what?" to which Hermione and Draco laughed at but at the same time squirming uncomfortably.

One evening Draco managed to sneak one hand in her knickers and bring her to climax. It was as intense as he remembered that was until a dull ache started to form in her stomach. Since then he didn't do more than kiss her a few times and went to bed. And just about every night Draco had to take himself by hand, alone, in the shower.

Other than that aspect of their relationship, they were getting along well. Conversations and laughter were easy whether they were talking about politics or the weather, there wasn't any moment that was awkward which as it always should be.

And the best part of it all was for the first time in their lives, both of them avoided any argument. Since before, their arguments had always been their favorite part of their relationship because both seemed to be clever enough not to have one top the other. Fighting was what flared the passion between them. Well, now they didn't have to fight in order for passion the flare...

"Mum! Dad!"

"Sweetheart!" Hermione's parents chorused right before she launched herself between them. Automatically, the two elders sandwiched her. It was worth the pain in her stomach. "We've missed you," her mother said when she pulled away from the three-way embrace.

"Missed you both too, Mum!"

"Now where is my granddaughter?" Her father demanded good-naturedly.

"Right here," Draco answered as he came to the door carrying Verity.

"Can we do this inside?" Hermione said, scrunching her nose up at them. "It's a bit drafty out here in case anyone didn't notice."

Her parents chuckled and the five of them settled themselves in the living room. There was a pot of steaming hot tea, a plate of sandwiches and another plate of small cakes. Draco and Hermione prepared it for them.

However, they went ignored because the minute they had their hands on Verity, the younger couple had lost them. Well, the new parents couldn't exactly blame them. Verity was the most beautiful baby to grace the earth (whether they were biased or not, it was no one's business) and anyone could spend hours just looking at her. She wasn't old enough to interact yet but tiniest gurgle or mewl (like a newborn kitten) she let out was enough to delight them. She was just so lovely.

Hermione watched with her head on Draco's shoulder, their hands laced together as they sat by side on the couch, smiling at her parents. When she was younger, the only thing she wanted was to make them proud of her by excelling academically and they wanted her to be a dentist. When they found out that she was a witch, there was some part of her that she had disappointed them somehow. She thought that the only way for someone to be proud of another was academic excellence... but the look on their faces as they stared at her daughter... it was incredible! Their eyes shined with pride for her. It was more than words could ever say.

"She's lovely," Hermione's father, Howard Granger, told the two of them, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm so proud of the two of you."

Draco squeezed Hermione's hand, indicating that Howard's words affected him as much as it did her.

"We missed you two over the New Years," Hermione's mother, Debbie Granger, said.

New Year didn't even occur to them because it was the day after Hermione gave birth to Verity. Their relationship was still strained at the time and they didn't have the heart to actually celebrate with the doctors and nurses who were on call during the holidays. They merely watched the fireworks display provided by the town from the window of Hermione's private ward, accepted a few dishes from the thoughtful nurses and just tended to Verity.

"Hermione was still recovering from surgery then," Draco said sounding apologetic. "We didn't want to worry you about the emergency C-section."

Her eyes widened.

"Emergency C-section?" Debbie who held Verity in her arms repeated, her voice rising in panic.

His eyes also widened. "Was I not supposed to tell them that?" he asked Hermione in a panicked whisper.

"Tell us what happened!" Howard's voice was a bit stern.

"I went into labor while she is still breech. It's no big deal, I promise. It's not really like a huge emergency situation," Hermione assured the two of them. "The doctor just didn't want to risk anything. My cervix is a fast-worker apparently but Verity isn't."

The tension eased from her parents as well as Draco.

"I still don't get why you had to take an impromptu holiday vacation in a small town no less," Howard said. "But then again, that's your thing, isn't it? Impromptu weddings. Impromptu holidays." He shook his head.

Impromptu holiday vacation was the explanation they provided when they wondered why they were in Portsmouth. They had decided that the troubles in their relationship stayed within the relationship itself and besides they were back together - that's all that matters. "It was my idea," Draco lied smoothly. "The holiday season in the city is... too much this year. I thought Hermione would appreciate a quieter environment with the due date close and all. The healer said that she has to take it easy all the time. You both know me, I always worry about her."

Her parents nodded in unison. "That seems logical. Draco, you've always been so thoughtful," Debbie gushed. "Thank you for taking such good care of our Hermione."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

Draco didn't miss that and he chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders, squeezing him to her. "Come on. I know you like it when I'm fussing over you," he teased.

Hermione faced him and rolled her eyes again but the corners of her mouth were tilted up slightly. "Maybe."

After a moment, Draco turned to his in-laws. "We're very sorry about the lack of accommodations we could provide."

Debbie waved it away. "The inn is quite charming and although we're eager to spend time with my grandchild, we understand that you both need your privacy."

"Thanks," Draco replied. "At least let us pay then for the inn- "

"No," Howard said firmly. That was the end of it. Despite his constant jovial attitude, when Hermione's father put his foot down, there was no room for argument.

Draco shrugged.

"Oh dear, the little bug is starting to get sleepy," Debbie murmured almost sadly.

"Let me get her to sleep," Howard offered.

"No. I'll do it, Howard."

"It's alright, Debbie. I'll do it."

"Howard!"

"Debbie!"

Hermione rolled her eyes while Draco snickered. "Baby, think we'll be that way when we're their age?"

"I should hope not!"

Hermione's mother was now smiling triumphantly as she stood rocking Verity to sleep while Hermione's father watched from the lounge chair grumbling under his breath, slightly glaring at her.

"The bedroom is the last door to the right," Hermione told her mother. "You can take her there when she falls asleep." She turned to her father. "Stop grumbling."

He grumbled a little more and then stopped, grabbing one of the cakes on the coffee table.

"You act like Draco sometimes it's frightening."

"I do not!"

"He does not!"

"My father and husband protest too much methinks," she said cheekily, leaning away from Draco's embrace to grab a sandwich for herself before settling back in.

"Infuriating, isn't she?" Draco spoke over her head to her father. "She's been a bit like that since she gave birth. I don't know where she picked that up from. Could be probably one of those goofy redheads."

"I think you're right, son," Howard agreed, laughing.

What Draco loved about Hermione's parents were that they were so open-minded and accepting. They know of his and Hermione's past but despite their stiffness at first, they welcomed him with open arms, treating him as if he were their own child. It was refreshing. His own childhood experience were fulfilled materially and even though his parents cared for him, it was not enough. He tried to be the top student at Hogwarts. He tried to get his father's approval by being a Death Eater despite his mother's protests. He tried everything but there wasn't anything he could do to make them proud of him. So in the end, he gave up trying to please them and started to do things to please himself this time. It was the best decision of his life.

While father and daughter conversed, Draco distracted himself by pouring tea for everyone (via magic of course).

His thoughts drifted back to his parents. What was he going to do with them? His first instinct was to cut off all ties with them and not let them know about Verity... but of course Hermione, the ever-righteous Gryffindor, wouldn't let him do that. Rage still filled him whenever he thought about what his mother did.

In the past three weeks, Bubo bubo (their family owl) delivered around six letters from his parents asking him where he was and that they were worried.

Let them worry. I don't care, he would say to Hermione whenever she told him to pen a reply.

Draco, she would warn.

Then he would ignore her and throw the letter in the fire to her annoyance.

"What are you thinking about?" his wife's voice spoke quietly into his ear.

He turned his head and gazed down at her with a small smile. "Monday," he lied. "I don't feel like going to work yet. It's too soon. Do you think it's a good idea to file in my paternity leave?"

Laugh gurgled from her throat. "Draco, you haven't been to work in three weeks. Percy will have your hide."

"Well," he said with a light scoff, "I did not have any idea that my wife will be giving birth. I'm sure they'll understand."

"No, they won't. You should wait at least a couple of months before- "

"A couple months? No way. Like I told the blasted Weasel, I don't really need that job at the Ministry. I can easily worm my way through a high position in the Malfoy Apothecary, you know, and I don't even have to work - at all!"

"Yes, I know." She rolled her eyes. "I know you don't need the job... but I do know that you like it despite what you claim."

"I do not." Did his voice just crack? "It's the crappiest job ever. They treat me like an errand boy especially the Weasel."

"Errand boy? Draco, I believe your job has something to do with statistics, econometrics and marketing in which you provide input into operational decisions on the basis of the analysis."

"So? They make me do a lot of paperwork."

"Stop whining. You are excellent in what you do. Tell you what," her voice dropped in a whisper, "I do believe that once you achieve your promotion you'll be the boss of Percy Weasley. He's merely your supervisor. You're up for chief analytics officer, am I right? That's about three jumps up the ladder."

He straightened in his seat. "Yes. I think they called it CAO or something. I don't really care about the title. All I know is that when I get that promotion I get to have my own office. No more cramped little cubicles for me. No sir!"

She laughed.

He then slouched a bit again. "I think I just lost my passion for it when you... you know... left." He shrugged. "But fine, I admit that I like how challenging it is."

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "I know you do. Verity and I will be fine. Besides I'll ask Ginny to stay over with her kids when you're at work. I won't mind having them over."

"But I do."

"No, you don't."

He made a face at her. "Whatever." He then noticed that her parents weren't in the room anymore. "Where are your parents?"

"In the bedroom. Verity finally fell asleep. They're tucking her in."

"Mmm," he murmured and without further ado, leaned down to kiss her on the lips softly. "When I'm miles away at work, I shall think of you and Verity."

She smiled against his lips. "You're such a sap."

He pulled back with an slightly annoyed expression on his face. "That's not the answer I was expecting."

"Pray tell what it is then."

"I was thinking you were going to say, 'I shall think of you naked and hard and ready for me when you get home'."

That earned him a smack upside on the head.

"Well." He laughed. "I was just joking. Well, half-joking really."

"You are disgusting and incorrigible."

"So you always say." He stole another kiss before she could think to smack him again.

Her parents came back to the living room, their eyes misty from an emotional moment with their first grandchild. They finished the snacks Hermione and Draco had prepared and when dinner time came, Hermione's mother took over the kitchen. Draco had missed her cooking.

Howard and Debbie Granger did not even let Verity's parents touch her. They played with her, fed her, burped her, changed her and rocked her to sleep. They left late that night and they came back very early the next day with groceries so Debbie can prepare breakfast for all of them.

When Monday came, Draco was very reluctant to leave the bed around seven because his shift starts at eight. The bed was big and soft and warm decorated with his wife sleeping on her side, unmoving but somehow looking soft and comfortable at the same time. He had gotten used to lazy mornings with her, not getting up until ten in the morning. His in-laws would leave Aqua Falls some time after lunch.

With great effort he jumped into the shower and had about two cups of coffee, waiting patiently for Ginny Potter's arrival with her own kids so she can help out Hermione after her parents had gone. He greeted the kid Potters, James and Albus-Severus (or Albie) warmly, ruffling their black hair and tweaking their noses affectionately gentle and with a parting tease to the redhead, he flooed to the Ministry of Magic.

"Welcome back," Percy Weasley greeted dryly when Draco arrived at their department floor. "I thought for sure you weren't ever going back. Such a shame."

Draco bit back a snarky remark as he faked a smile and said, "Good morning to you too, Weasel. Miss me, did you?" And he walked away before the older man could say something in return.

"Ah, Malfoy! Good to have you back!" The head department, Auric Carleton greeted enthusiastically as they passed by each other down the hall, giving the younger man a healthy slap on the back.

"Thanks!" Draco called out to him as he rounded the corner and to the room with numerous cubicles. His coworkers either looked at him indifferently or glared at him. He didn't return any of those stares, just looked ahead until he reached his cubicle.

"Back so soon, Malfoy?" A wizard sneered not so far away from his place but Draco did not look to see who it was.

"Too soon apparently," was his cryptic reply.

"Where did you go?" A snooty witch asked.

"None of your damn business."

"Gee, so touchy! Does your wife know where you'd been?"

A vein throbbed in Draco's temple. "Of course she does. I was with her."

This was one of those days where Draco wondered why he decided to become a nice person. Well, nice according to his standards anyway. He wanted to hex every other people in this room. His wand hand was literally itching to do so... but he couldn't disappoint Hermione and Verity. He also couldn't break Shacklebot's trust. Hell, even Potter's. He had come a long way and he wouldn't let some close-minded assholes ruin everything he had going on for his life right now.

Filled with renewed determination, he started to work.

His inspiration?

His wife and his kid.

The last time he had walked in here he had absolutely nothing.

Now he had absolutely everything.

That thought brought a brilliant smile on his face.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Warnings: **Marriage/Adult Fic / OOC / Debatable AU / Fluffy / Profanity / Explicit sexual content

**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts / EWE

Thank you so much to the awesome beta whose pen name is Rose Davis for looking over this fic!

* * *

The next week passed by seemingly slow to Draco this time. Work had become such a burden to him and seeing Percy Weasley's face first thing in the Ministry didn't help matters... one month, Draco thought excitedly. Verity was one month old today. Despite that his work was currently piled up on top of his desk, he leaned back in his seat and twirling a quill in his fingers while thinking that he should celebrate that his baby was one month old today. He could bring balloons and he could have Fifi bake a cake if time permits. It would be a little party with just the three of them.

Hermione would no doubt appreciate it after this morning when they went over to that muggle hospital again for her and Verity's checkup. The doctor assured the both of them that her scar was healing well and that it wouldn't take long before she was fully recovered - "One week," Dr. Adrienne had said, "On second thought, four to five days will do." - Thanks to the healing potion Hermione had been taking from St. Mungo's.

Verity, on the other hand, had a needle stuck in her butt during that appointment much to Draco's horror. Bloody muggles and their weird medicinal practices.

Verity was becoming slightly more interactive to his and Hermione's delight. She can smile now... just a tiny little smile that looks a bit like Hermione's. Other than that, she hums, grunts, coos and gurgles. Not to mention there was one particular peculiar sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh but he wasn't sure because it also sounded suspiciously like a tiny choke. He seriously hoped it was the former.

Her eyes were startlingly grey, just like his. Hermione kept saying that she'd have no problem drowning in them nor did he.

Sometimes he would find himself cooing like an idiot over the babe. The whole world could watching him using baby talk to his daughter. He wouldn't mind.

He should also point out that he can handle changing diapers now. The smell didn't bother him so much anymore.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the start of murmurs and whispers all through out the room nor did he hear a distinct tapping of a cane on the floor.

He realized that something was amiss only when a shadow loomed over his cubicle.

He glanced up and immediately a scowl appeared in his face. Funnily enough he wasn't surprised to see him standing there. "What do you want?" he asked the intruder stiffly.

"Draco," Lucius Malfoy lamented, looking down at him with a frown. "You ran out on us during the Christmas Eve party. You refuse to answer our letters. What is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how much grief your mother went through over the past month?"

He wanted to laugh. "I don't want to have this discussion with you right now. As for not answering your letters, I would have answered if I wanted to. I don't. I will come to when I feel like it." He didn't have to look around to know that his coworkers were listening in. The room was silent, making his and his father's voice booming in the still room.

Rage was evident in the elder wizard's face but Draco could see that he was fighting it. "At least answer your mother's letters. You're acting like a petulant child. It is unacceptable. This is not how I raised you."

"I know very well how you raised me, Father." Draco sneered. So he was a little bitter.

A few murmurs rose across the room.

Lucius raised his cane and tapped it on top of Draco's table once fore very point he made, hard. Even his voice had gotten hard. Once upon a time, Draco would have caved in. Not anymore. "You will come to the Manor this evening. You will explain yourself to your mother. You will excuse your brattish attitude. You will apologize to her for your carelessness."

Draco pushed his father's cane away, knocking down a few things on the floor during the process. "No, I will not go to the Manor," he said coolly. "I'm done listening to you. I'm doing listening to my mother. I'm not a child anymore so you can stop ordering me about."

"Then stop acting like one!"

"I thought I was speaking my mind freely. You're causing a scene, Father. I don't really appreciate it."

"I don't give a damn! Your mother will not rest easy until she sees for herself that you are fine," Lucius muttered irritably. "Merlin knows how many headaches she's giving me with her worries over you."

Draco's eyes narrowed at his father and he stood up from behind the desk, his hands clenched in a fist at his sides. "Get out or I'll summon Potter for assistance." That was a lie. His father didn't have to know that.

"You're threatening me?"

"Yes." Draco smirked. His father had made it a life's dedication to avoid any interactions with Harry Potter at all costs.

Lucius eyes narrowed, meeting Draco's determined gaze. "We are not done here."

"No," Draco agreed, "I do not believe we are."

The older wizard turned on his heel and walked away... before he left the room, Draco called out to him. "By the way, Father, please tell Mother dear to stop interfering in my marriage or I will never let you two meet my daughter."

Dramatic gasps. Whispers. Murmurs.

Lucius paused, his entire body rigid.

Draco felt satisfaction roll through him. "And that I know what she did. Tell her that."

Lucius cast one frustrated look over his shoulder before he swept away, his robes billowing behind him as he hurried away.

When his father had gone, Draco gave the entire room a fake smile. "That'll give the lot of you something to talk about, wouldn't it?" With that, he fell on his seat again surprisingly in a better mood than this morning. He never stood up to this father... until now, he realized. If he did before, he certainly couldn't remember it. He wouldn't be totally surprised if the little scene would be all over the Ministry before the day ends.

"Congratulations about the baby, Malfoy." An unknown wizard threw out.

Draco gave a start. "Thanks?" he muttered uncertainly.

"A girl, eh? Must be proud." Another wizard added.

"Yes. I am. Definitely," he replied reluctantly.

This time a witch spoke up. "How old is she?"

"A month."

A few people offered their half-hearted congratulations to which Draco replied with equally half-hearted thanks. He didn't really know what to make of what had just transpired. He also wasn't sure what left him more confused: his unexpected but anticipated confrontation with his father or the grudging acceptance by his coworkers. Was the latter a result of the former?

And when five o'clock had struck, he left the floor, very aware of the stares and whispers he received as he walked around the Ministry. The attention wasn't new to him. It was something he usually got whenever he was out with Hermione or the Potters or his parents. It was worse when he first started to work there. So now he was practically immune and mildly annoyed. Some people thrive on gossip.

As he had planned earlier, he bought a bunch of balloons from Diagon Alley, a few supplies for the cottage, a very small bouquet of stargazer lilies because he thought she might appreciate that and something from the Quidditch shop - a small squishy toy snitch for Verity.

He was aware that he did look every bit of a domesticated man as he walked down Diagon Alley. He even caught a few smiles from older wizards and witches. Everyone, he realized, liked a family man.

When he flooed back to the cottage, he found the living room empty. "Baby, where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen!" was his wife's answer.

He released the strings of balloons, letting them fly to the ceiling. He carried the toy and the flowers in his hand as he walked the short distance to the kitchen.

And there she was, standing with her back to him, leaning over a pot set on the stove. The playpen was most likely levitated there, sitting beside the small dining table. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. "Hey."

"Hey. How was your day?"

"Eventful." He kissed her neck again before twirling her around in his arms so he can kiss her properly. When he pulled away, he presented the flowers to her with a wink. She accepted it with a rueful smile before turning back to her cooking.

He then walked over to the play pen where his daughter was lying in, to his surprise, wide awake. "Hello baby girl. How was your day? Did you have fun with your mother? Oh. I have something for you." He held out the toy to her. "Ta-da! It's a snitch! Well... not a real one. When you're old enough, I'll get you a broom and then I'll get you a snitch so I can teach you to be a Seeker just like me. You'll love it I'm sure." Verity smiled up at him, gurgling softly. "You're excited for that aren't you? Hermione, she's smiling at me." He couldn't hide the joy in his voice. He then picked her up from the play pen. "Missed you today, baby girl. Happy one month." He kissed her forehead.

When he placed Verity back on the playpen distracting her with a floating mobile toy made of small sparkly unicorns while music softly played, he and Hermione sat down to eat the supper she prepared.

He told her about what happened in the Ministry.

"If you'd replied to their letters he wouldn't have come," she said when he finished. "And see, you're worrying ten years off your mother's life."

He sighed. "Hermione- "

"What if I take you to see them?"

"No. You can't want to see her. I know I don't."

"Draco," she sighed in disappointment. "I don't either... but they're your parents. They deserve to know their grandchild."

He growled softly. "I will decide if they deserve to know her or not. What if Potter never found you?"

"I would have come to you," she answered softly, honestly. "It would have taken a bit longer but I would have come."

He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just want you to stop pushing me into seeing them, alright? They caused my bloody misery for several months. They caused me to miss your morning sickness, your cravings in the middle of the night, your moodiness."

"You should be thankful." She smiled.

"They caused me to miss when Verity first kicked in your womb."

She lowered her eyes briefly. "You can be angry all you want, Draco, but nothing is going to change what happened. What matters that it's done and there's no going back to it." She reached out and grabbed his hand across the table. "We can forgive and forget so we can move forward."

A reluctant smile crept to his face. "I absolutely hate it when you do that. I like to hold onto my grudges, baby, thank you very much... but... damn it, fine! For Verity's sake I will. Don't expect it to be any time soon though."

"It's an improvement."

* * *

The next day when he showed up in the Ministry for work, there were a few people who greeted him.

"Good morning, Malfoy!"

"Have a great day, Malfoy!"

"Oi Malfoy!"

What the bloody hell was going on?

Was he actually finally being accepted if a bit grudgingly into society?

Well, what do ya know? Draco thought to himself as he returned each greeting that morning.

It was clear to him now. Everyone did not like his father and at the same time, fearing him, Draco believed. By standing up to him in a room full of people, they must have admired him for it. It was about bloody time someone had to put him in his place... his parents were still blood supremacists (despite their only son was married to one of the famous muggleborns in Wizarding History) and still believed they were way above others (the Malfoy fortune influence, what else).

The slight guilt he felt by treating his father uncivilly when he was merely trying to reach out to his son was completely squashed. What? He may have reformed somewhat but he still was Draco and a bloody Slytherin through and through. Damned if he didn't relish his new status as a somewhat admired person by the Ministry employees.

It was a good feeling not to live in anyone else's shadow. Especially his father's.

Not even Percy Weasley's annoying voice and equally annoying face fazed him.

When Auric Carleton, the head department summoned him, left him with a unsettling feeling in the stomach.

Carleton was a tall, robust man in his late forties. Just about everyone liked him except Percy Weasley. There were a lot of grey hair mixed with his thick, short black hair. He was a bit round in the middle. He was an imposing man, all in all... but he was nice and he was funny.

His office door was open so Draco just walked inside. He paused briefly at the sight of his boss's usually ready smile replaced by a serious expression.

"Have a seat, Malfoy," Carleton said uncharacteristically sober. "So tell me how was your vacation."

"Excellent," Draco said reluctantly. "My wife gave birth the first day. We have a month old daughter. She's very, very lovely."

Carleton nodded. "Congratulations. I did hear a bit of that from the other employees."

"Thanks," he replied a bit awkwardly but he wasn't sure why. "Anyway, what was it you really wanted to talk to me about?"

"The promotion."

"Ah."

"You have it."

His jaw dropped. "Wha- "

"Congratulations!" Carleton started to laugh, his face transforming completely, letting Draco know that he must have purposely let Draco believe that he was to be in trouble.

"Wha- "

"As previously discussed, you get your own office, an 80% increase in salary, more health benefits, yadda yadda- you can go over it with the Ms. Sandel later." A patient man, Carleton was usually not. "You'll mostly work with and report to Reed."

He was stunned. He had thought least that Carleton would say that he needed more time to think about the promotion and that he would have to consider his unseemly three-week vacation. "Okay," he managed to say. "I don't- I'm not- I- "

"Let's shake on it, boy!"

He hastily shook the older man's offered hand. "Thanks, Carleton. This was truly unexpected. I thought for sure you were going to chew my ears off or something," he admitted with half a smile. Weird man Carleton was.

Carleton chuckled. "No. Well, go on! You can pass off your pending duties to Weasley. He'll see to it. Merlin knows that it's time for him to start to do his own work."

Draco's grin was now big and bright.

When he finished his discussion with Carleton, he passed by Percy Weasley's office. He stuck his head in long enough to let out an evil laugh (Percy frowned at him in confusion), then with a smirk just to infuriate he gently closed the door.

It was going to be a fucking good year for Draco Malfoy.

He returned to his cubicle so he could start to pack up. Former cubicle, he amended. To his surprise, someone was sitting in his chair. Former chair, he reminded.

"Well, hello," he said, his tone low and seductive as he came forward to sit on his desk.

His wife smiled up at him through her lashes. "Hello."

He leaned down and kissed her quickly on the lips. "Where is Verity? Why are you here? Is everything alright?"

"Mum and Dad are back in the cottage with her. I thought I'd give them a chance to spend time with her alone which goes both ways because it also means I get to spend time with you."

"I'd love that. Hey, I got the promotion!" He grinned because she reacted the way he expected: by all but jumping to his arms and snogging the hell out of him.

"That's great! Oh! This is so exciting!"

She looked like she was even more excited than him. But that was his Hermione.

"Come on, let's have lunch. We're going to celebrate."

"That's a great idea! You know, Draco, I would like to stop by my department for a bit. I just want to see how things are going on..."

"Oh! I should have known you have a hidden agenda."

She let out a little laugh before she kissed him soundly. "I'll be quick I promise!"

He harrumphed, biting back a smile as she jumped to her feet and literally ran from the room. He knew that she was looking forward to getting back to work. During her recovery period she kept muttering something about eradicating the pro-pureblood laws. He totally supported her on that. He didn't want any more children to grow up the same as he did. Stupid. Foolish. He knew very well that she would be successful in this goal. She did achieve that ridiculous goal of fighting for house-elf rights when she was working in the Department of Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

Everything in his life was starting to fall back into place, with a few adjustments and improvements.

During her absence, he took the time to pack his things in his cubicle. His office was on the other end of the hall, a few doors down from Carleton's and miles away (an exaggeration) from Weasley's.

She returned to the cubicle not half an hour later. Her face flushed from excitement, her eyes lit up with a smile, her lips tilted up the corners, she looked youthful and somehow more beautiful than he remembered. "Let's go, Draco, I'm famished."


End file.
